CRVO
by SpadesHigh
Summary: Sometimes, for the sake of the greater good, one must sacrifice their own morality. Brought together by circumstance and a woman in a red and white mask, four strangers try to find their place in a world falling into darkness. (Rated M for Violence and Swearing. Background ships of my choice, including White Rose, Bumbleby, Qrowin, and lots of angsty one-sided Rosebird.)
1. Prologue 1

**Disclaimer: RWBY and all its associated properties are the sole property of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC  
**

* * *

 **A Helm of Gold**

The helm belonged to one whose wish was to be always in the center, to stand as a shield between the righteous and the evil, a sentinel to defend civilization from the monsters that plagued it. To this end she donned a suit of golden plate, a blood red surcoat draped over it. The helm itself was of the full face variety, though the lower half could be moved upward via a set of hinges. From around the upper portion of the helm rose a series of simple spikes, giving the impression of a crown. On her left arm sat a small, circular shield, and that same hand was wrapped around the sheath of a rather peculiar sword. At first glance, one would take it for a normal sword. However, on closer inspection, one might notice that only one side of the blade contained a cross guard, and that that cross guard was actually the clip of a gun. The hilt of the sword even had a trigger mechanism attached just below the clip, and was shaped more like a pistol grip than a sword hilt.

Thusly attired and armed, the knight made her way through a field of desolation, charred wood and burning ash crunching under the heels of her boots. Still burning trees surrounded the knight, casting ghastly, tortured reflections off her armor. Occasionally, a burning ember would drift down and land on the knight, and a soft pulse of golden light would ripple away from the point of impact, dissipating as it went. As the knight walked through the burning forest, she began to detect a distant sound. Straining to make it out, she soon recognized a demented noise somewhere between the scream of a bird of prey and the roar of a big cat. From the variety of sounds, she surmised that the number was rather large, and from the increasing volume, that they were coming closer. With practiced ease, her right hand dropped to the hilt of her sword, her left hand holding that sheathe in place as she drew out the blade. It was a double edged longsword, split down the middle by a rifle barrel. She held the blade down at her side, waiting calmly.

She did not have long to wait, before the first of the creatures came into sight through the trees. A nightmarish beast, with the body of a panther and the wings of a giant raven; a griffon. Its fur and feathers were blacker than a moonless night, broken only by a series of white, bone-like formations that covered its body. None of these formations more prominent than the almost mask-like formation that completely covered its bird-like head, looking like a second skull. Burning, red and gold eyes glared out at her, silently whispering of rage and blood-lust, hatred and madness. A small smile graced the knight's lips at the sight. No matter how much she hated the creatures, she could not help but be reminded of her master whenever she saw one. Raising her sword calmly, she squeezed the trigger and was rewarded with a staccato burst of bullets flying from the barrel of her blade. Racing forth, the bullets struck true, shattering the mask and piercing deep into the monster's brain. With hardly a sound, the beast fell from the sky, turning to smoke before it even hit the ground. Her victory was short lived, however, as many more of the beasts burst through the trees, some running along the ground, while others swooped down from the sky. Settling into a stronger stance, began to swing her blade, firing burst after burst, turning in short circles, felling foe after foe. All too soon, however, her clip ran out, forcing her to reload. Doing so took no more than a handful of heartbeats, but it was enough for the griffons to close in. The first came from above, dive bombing her with claws outstretched. The knight raised her left arm, the small shield spiraling outward, nautilus-like, into a massive targe, a pair of crimson wings spread wide on the face. The griffon slammed into the shield, and though the force was enough to drive her feet a few inches into the ground, she did not waver in her stance. Thrusting her blade up, she impaled the beast through the heart. The next attack came from behind. She did not bother to block this one, side-stepping and piercing the griffon through the eye with her sword. When two more came from either side, she blocked one with her shield while the other, which attempted to bite her, found itself clamping down on her sword instead. With merciless force, the blade was forced in farther still, shearing away its jaw and separating the upper and lower halves of its head. Pushing back with her shield, she threw the other griffon away, turning to face more pressing threats. She decided it was about time to go on the offensive, and charged the remaining griffons, swinging her sword with a grace born of years of practice. Hacking, chopping, and stabbing, her armor soon ran red with blood. Luckily, even their blood turned to smoke before too long, so there wasn't too much concern regarding stains. Soon, there were only a handful left, but the knight was breathing heavily. The weight of her armor finally starting to slow her down. It was then that she felt a dull pressure on her shoulder as a griffon attempted to bite her from behind. However, the beast couldn't even scratch her armor plating, and she wasn't too concerned about it. She simply drove her sword into the ground and grabbed the griffon by the back of the neck, flipping it bodily over her shoulder. As it hit the ground, she lifted one leg and brought it down on the creatures head, crushing it. Picking up her blade, she waded back into the fray, firing the occasional burst as she went.

Eventually, there were no more griffons to defeat, and she stood in the center of a ring of already dissolving corpses, stretching her tired muscles. When she heard a familiar hum behind her, she did not even need to turn around to know that she would find a red and black portal when she looked. Sliding her sword back into its sheath, she passed through the portal, finding herself in a dimly lit antechamber. She knew from experience that the room contained no exterior doors, and could only be entered through the portals. The room was bare, save for a single ebony table, upon which sat a red and white Grimm mask. The knight smiled, it had been too long since she had a chance to talk with her master. Reaching up, she unlatched the clasps of her helmet, sliding it up and off, revealing yellow hair which did not quite reach her shoulders, and eyes a burning gold. Placing her helm next to the Grimm mask, she passed through the door at the end of the hall, deeper into the compound.


	2. Prologue 2

**A Mask of White**

Snow drifted down on nearly deserted midnight streets, the few stragglers far too focused on getting home to notice the dark shape moving across the rooftops above them. Violet eyes stared out from the holes of a white kabuki mask. Dark purple stripes detailed the face of a fox, a toothy grin stretched from ear to ear. Long, ice white hair was gathered at the back of her head, secured with two long needles. Atop her head sat a pair of equally white ears, the shape reminiscent, perhaps unsurprisingly, of a fox. A white bodysuit, highlighted in royal purple, wrapped around her form. Her shoulders sported a pair of artistic, purple swirls, a symbol of yin and yang. Her eyes followed a convoy of armored vehicles as they made their way through the nearly deserted streets. As they began to move out of range, the infiltrator made her way silently across the rooftops, keeping pace with the vehicles. Eventually the vehicles reached a large metal garage door. The door smoothly opened as they approached, and the transports filed into it. Looking up, she caught sight of the building the vehicles had entered. A windowless tower of steel that dominated all other buildings in the region. A small smile graced her features as she looked at the building, knowing how easy this would be, which grew into a grin that rivaled her mask as she noted the sigil on the side of the tower, an all too familiar snowflake. It wasn't rare to find such buildings in Atlas, satellites of the ever-present Schnee Dust Company, and given the company's close ties with the military, it was not all together a surprise to see them make an appearance. Shaking her head in order to bring her focus back to the task at hand, she backed up a bit before charging forward and leaping across the street towards the tower. Just before she hit the wall, there was a short pulse of purple light, and her stomach did a flip as down suddenly became, well, not down. Instead of jumping forwards, she was now falling down, landing in a crouch on the surface of the wall. Giving herself a chance to adjust to the new orientation, she slowly stood, the ground behind her and sky above. Balance reasserting itself, she began to make her way towards the roof, keeping low in order not to draw attention to herself. As she reached the roof, she walked off the edge, shifting gravity as she went, ending with her feet firmly planted on the roof, and gravity back at its original orientation.

Scanning the rooftop she stood upon, she found what she was looking for, a ventilation system. Strolling over to the grate with her usual soundless grace, she looked the contraption over. Finding no sign of sensors or other deterrents to infiltration, she quietly opened the cover and slipped in. As she moved through the vents, she shifted gravity frequently, navigating her way down deeper into the building. Her objective would most likely be housed as deeply underneath the main structure as it could be. After all, Ironwood did so love his secret sub-basements. After what felt like hours of crawling, she finally found that she could go no further. The shaft she was currently in dead-ended on a downward facing vent. Smiling again, she made her way to the vent and looked down. She could see a bank of monitors, soldiers watching the screens. There were nine guards total, one of whom was sitting directly below her. Smiling, she slid a finger down each of her wrists, and a small hole slid open in both of her sleeves, just above where she touched. Each hole revealed a thin, rifled barrel. With all the gravity changes up to that point, she was currently suspended directly above the vent, and having gotten into place, she released the shift, kicking off at the same moment, ensuring that her entire weight slammed into the fragile vent, and consequently into the guardsman waiting below. _Eight to go_. In the time it took them to react, she raised her hands, and with a pneumatic hiss, a pair of darts were launched from her wrists, catching two guards in the throat. The guards plummeted, unconscious. They would wake up in a few hours, no worse for the experience...well, except for the backlash from their superiors, but that was in no way her problem. _Six._ Noting that the remainder of the guards had managed to recover from their initial shock and ready their weapons, the infiltrator sprang into motion. Jumping in the direction of the nearest guard, she shifted gravity so that down was the wall behind the soldier, allowing herself to accelerate. Grabbing the soldier by the helmet, she pulled him along with her, slamming the back of his head into the wall behind him. From her new position crouched against the wall, she fired two more darts, catching two unsuspecting guards in the back. _Three_. As the soldiers turned to track their target, she shifted again, landing on the ceiling. Running across the tiled ceiling, she leapt down onto the center guard locking her legs around his head, she used her momentum to flip him bodily into one of the other soldiers, and then, with another shift, she pushed off of the floor, delivering a flying double kick to the face of the remaining guards. Firing three more darts she finished them off, ensuring that they would not be getting back up anytime soon. Then, having used the unconscious guards as a rudimentary barricade for the door, she turned to the bank of monitors.

Finding a convenient port, she pulled out a scroll. Plugging it into the port, she selected the only program on the device, helpfully labelled " _Click this_ _."_ _Well_ , she thought, _nice to see that whoever programmed this had a sense of humor_. Either that, or very little faith in her technical skills. Considering her employer, it might actually be the latter. She knew it was extracting information from the mainframe, but as for what that information was, she didn't have a clue. After all, she figured, if she was supposed to know, the boss would have told her. A surprisingly short amount of minutes later the scroll beeped, confirming that the program had run its course. She carefully removed the scroll, storing it back inside her suit, before regarding the ventilation shaft with a weary sigh, not looking forward to the climb back to the roof. It came as no small relief, then, when she heard the all too familiar hum of a portal tearing itself into existence behind her. Collecting her darts, she made her way through the red and black anomaly, finding herself in a familiar hallway. Unsurprisingly, a red and white Grimm mask stared back from the table in front of her, but what did slightly surprise her, as well as bring a smile to her face, was the golden helm beside it. Skipping happily forward, she removed her own mask, placing it on the opposite side of the Grimm mask from the golden helm. With a giddy grin on her face, she made her way through the door at the end of the hall.


	3. Prologue 3

**A Hat of Brown**

Once upon a time, the town of Black Gulch had been a relatively lively settlement. Hidden in the depths of Adder's Pass, it was sheltered from the worst of the dust storms and Grimm raids that plagued every other attempt to build an outpost in the deserts of Menagerie. Then, one day, no different than any other, the Black Gulch settlement went radio silent. Teams were dispatched to investigate, but by the time they reached the town, everyone was gone. No signs of a fight, or any other explanation, were ever found, the settlers were simply gone, without a trace. By order of the chieftain, the town was declared hostile, and citizens were forbidden to enter. That was years ago, and now the Black Gulch was lively again, but the current populace were of the decidedly less than reputable variety. The lost city had become a perfect haven for shady individuals to conduct shadier business. One part black market, one part safe house, and one part red light district, whatever you needed, Black Gulch had it.

So, when a lone stranger rode into town on a nondescript brown motorcycle, nobody asked any questions. In this kind of place, people who asked too many questions didn't exactly last long. The stranger rode slowly through the town, rolling to a stop in front of the local saloon. The stranger dismounted the bike with practiced ease, removing her long, dust covered traveling cloak as she went. She draped the cloak over the handlebars, then strode casually into the bar. Heads turned in mild curiosity as she pushed through the double doors, studying her. Brown, knee high leather boots transitioned to a slightly lighter pair of brown denim pants, into which was tucked into an off-white cotton shirt, covered by a leather vest that matched her boots. On her head was a simple, matching leather hat. The set was completed by the twin gun belts draped lazily across her hips, crisscrossing in the middle. Even her sun-tanned skin and the single braid of light brown hair that ran down her back fit the general palette of her outfit. The only spots of color were the band of green snakeskin that ran around the crown of her hat, and a single, poison green eye that glared out at the world from beneath the brim of said hat, vertical pupil widening in the sudden darkness. A simple leather eyepatch covered her right side, a thin band wrapping around her head to hold it in place, an Ouroboros sigil branded into its surface. Her good eye flickered left and right as it took in the patrons of the saloon, before she made her way to the bar. The barman, a lizard Faunus with rather thorny eyebrows, rolled his eyes at the sight of her, pulling out a bottle of whiskey and filling a glass. With a deeply predatory grin, the dust colored lass took a seat at the bar, smoothly lifting her drink while swiveling so that her back was to the barman and her face to the crowd.

"Ms. Westwood, it's been a while," the barman said quietly, a pronounced hiss on the s's in his sentence.

"Did ya miss me?," she replied, with just the hint of hiss being almost completely buried in her heavy drawl, "And how many times do I have to tell you, it's Viper. "

"I don't suppose you've come to pay for the damages you caused last time?" he asked drily.

"Hey, I told you, you could always just send the old bird the bill, didn't I?" she answered with a wink.

The barman grimaced, a hand reaching up to his throat reflexively. "Yes, well, I rather like living, so I'm afraid I must decline that particular offer. I almost regret asking, but I assume you're here on business?" A single nod from Viper affirmed his guess. Sighing, he looked around the bar. "I hate you so much."

"Love you too. Now, probably best you get on down. Things are about to get fun." The barman didn't hesitate, taking cover behind the bar. Viper grinned again, putting down her glass before reaching downwards with both hands. Her left hand went into a vest pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper, while her right went down to her thigh, slowly drawing a brown and silver revolver from its holster, a small bayonet automatically dropping from the underbarrel as she drew it, like a fang. Unfolding the paper with one hand, she raised her revolver into the air and fired off a single shot. The saloon went silent, every eye turned towards the source of the shot. Without a trace of concern, Viper held the paper up for everyone to see. It was a picture of a man with a pronounced goatee and two curling ram's horns, the right one broken half way. Above the picture was a single word **Wanted**. "I'm looking for someone, goes by the name of Billy. Anyone know where I can find him?" The response was rather explosive, and to their credit, the assorted assembled cretins reacted quickly, but Viper was much, much faster. By the time they got off a single shot, Viper had flipped herself over the bar, crouching behind it. Laughing softly at the annoyed look the barman was sending her way, she drew her other revolver. She could feel the impacts as dozens of bullets slammed into the bar at her back, but the hard, solid wood held firm. She laughed more loudly now, excited. Eventually, the volley of shots died down, eventually stopping altogether. Now, she knew, they'd try to find out what they'd accomplished with that barrage. She waited for four seconds to pass, and then burst into motion, leaping into a standing position. As she did, a white light began to glow from beneath her eyepatch, and the world began to slow down. Unfortunately, she slowed down to match, meaning no super speed, but it did provide one very useful advantage. It allowed her time to think. For others, battle was a hectic fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of affair, but her perceptual dilation gave her plenty of time to analyze the situation, determine the best course of action, and put it into motion. Quickly she looked over the battlefield, examining her foes' weapons. In her head she ranked them from most immediately dangerous to least. Memorizing their positions, trajectories, and rates of movement. From there she decided how to maximize the number of high level threats eliminated while minimizing the amount of time taken. All this occurred in less than a single heartbeat.

Satisfied, she allowed time to return to its natural flow. Raising her revolvers, she pulled the triggers, already moving to the next targets before the first even fell, allowing the kick of the shots to move her guns into position. Her eye did not even follow her guns, instead choosing to dart around the room, keeping an eye on the crowd. Occasionally, her movement would deviate, catching anyone who was close to reloading. Fifteen went down, not one even getting a shot off, before Viper dropped back beneath the bar. Flipping a switch on her revolvers' handles, the receivers hinged open, exposing the spent shells. Shaking them out, she grabbed a pair of speedloaders from out of the many pockets attached to her gun belts, sliding eight more rounds into each revolver. She was just in time too, for even as she closed the actions back up, a ruffian jumped over the bar. Before he could even hit the ground, though, Viper swung one arm upwards, catching the bandit in the throat with the revolver's bayonet. His own weight drove him down onto the blade, and soft flesh gave way to hard steel. Without hesitation, Viper withdrew the blade, rising to meet her foes, who had closed the gap in the interval. Not one to sit idly by, Viper rolled over the bar-top, firing as she went. A few more down, and a little more breathing room. She stalked forward slowly, swaying as she went. Predictably, her enemies began to close in for the kill. To her, their attacks seemed sluggish, as if they were moving through water, while her own strikes moved like lightning, dispensing stabs and bullets in equal measure. It was no time at all before she was left standing alone in a mountain of corpses and an ever growing sea of blood.

"Strange," she muttered to herself, "coulda sworn there was one mo..." Of course, even as the words left her mouth, a large hand grabbed her by the back of her shirt, throwing her across the room. She could feel a sharp pain in the back of her head, and her vision was blurry. Shaking her head, she raised her revolvers, or she would have, except her hands were rather empty at the moment.

The bruiser who had thrown her, a very large man with an ox tail, let out a bark of laughter at the sight. "Well, well, little missy, let's see if you're so dangerous without your guns."

Viper just shook her head again, though much more deliberately this time. "That was a very bad idea," she replied, all trace of her jovial drawl replaced by a cold, metallic hiss. "I suggest you take this opportunity to shoot yourself, because without my guns, that's the only way your death will be either quick or painless." The ox man smirked confidently, charging towards Viper as he did. "Too slow." Viper swayed out of the way effortlessly, delivering a swift kick to the back of the knees. As he fell, she grabbed him by the shoulder and chin, forcing him into a kneeling position while exposing his neck. She opened her mouth wide, experiencing the familiar sensation of her lower jaw unhinging. Her mouth was filled with short, needle shaped teeth, and where her canines would have been, two long fangs folded out from the roof of her mouth. Biting into the base of the man's neck, she could feel her venom sacs discharging, filling the man's arteries and veins. In moments, the man began to scream and writhe in agony.

Releasing the man, she looked let him fall to the ground. Her venom was two-fold in effect. First of all was the hemotoxic component, which would work to destroy his blood, tissues, and organs. This was extremely painful, and would cause death within hours. But more sinister than that, was the neurotoxin, which, instead of simply causing paralysis like most of its kind, actually sensitized the nervous system, amplifying sensations exponentially. This meant that the pain of the hemotoxin was multiplied many times over, overtaxing the brain stem and heart, reducing the time till death to mere minutes.

Viper stomped on the man's hand. "Like I said, neither quick, nor painless." Leaving the man to his agony she retrieved her guns, holstering them before making her way back to the bar, retrieving the whiskey bottle from behind it. As she lifted the bottle to her lips, she felt annoyed that she hadn't been able to find any pertinent information on her target. Just then, though, she heard the distinctive sound of shattering glass above her, and then the sound of a heavy object landing on the ground outside. As she made her way to the door, she heard the sound of an engine starting. Hurrying now, she slammed open the door, only to see a man riding away on _her_ bike. Before she could curse her luck, though, she noticed a rather distinct feature of the man, a pair of curling goat horns, the right one broken half way along its length. _So much for no leads._ The barman emerged from his hiding place behind the bar, looking out the door over Viper's shoulder.

"I doubt you could catch up to him now. What you gonna do?"

Viper grinned. "No worries, old man," she said, her cheerful demeanor and drawl having returned. She reached down into one of her pockets, withdrawing a single bullet which glowed with a silver light, "the nice thing about this contract," she slid the bullet into the chamber of her right hand gun, and time began to slow again, "this one's good alive..." her left hand rose to her eyepatch, drawing it up and out of the way "or dead."

Later, she stood in a dimly lit corridor with only one door, a table laid out in front of her. In the center was a Grimm mask, flanked by a golden helm and a white and purple kabuki mask. She calmly ambled up to the table, removing her hat as she went, and placing it down in front and between the helm and Grimm mask. Taking a swig from the bottle which she, ah, appropriated from the saloon, she passed through the door at the end of the room.


	4. Prologue 4

**A Mask of Black**

Rouge O'Hare was a simple woman. She had never considered herself very special. Like others in her family, she had lived through the Faunus War, and had experienced first-hand the cruelty which humanity was capable of. Then came the White Fang, promising equality and justice. She had been surprised when they asked her to volunteer, but she never doubted for an instant that they were doing the right thing. When Ghira had stepped down, and a new leader took his place, she gladly pledged to serve Sienna Khan as well. She was shocked at the direction Khan decided to take the White Fang, but when she saw just how effective her methods were, she never doubted that she had chosen the right path. Rouge may not have been as good a fighter as other members, but she contributed however she could. Mostly she ran whatever errands the leader of her cell required of her. That is, until _that_ day, the day the monster came, the day that everything she had known fell apart.

Like many auspicious days, this one started off like any other. Ms. O'Hare had been sent into town to pick up groceries, the ease with which her rabbit tail could be hidden making her an ideal candidate to barter with the human merchants. All had gone well, the apple merchant even slipped a note into her basket as she paid him, intel from a sympathizer to the cause. Pleased with her work, she made her way back to the base, a fortified compound hidden in the jungle. As she went, she hummed happily to herself, surreptitiously checking for pursuers, just like she had been taught. So focused was she on what was behind her, though, that she almost failed to notice what was ahead of her.

The first thing she noticed was the smell of smoke. Stopping in her tracks, she thought back to her training and began to make her slowly forward. The next thing she noticed was an orange glow shining through the trees, coming from the direction of the compound. Whispering pleas of fear, she made her way further in, until she began to hear a sound which chilled her blood. That sound was the sound of screaming, not from one voice, but from many. Dropping all pretense of stealth, she bounded forward, racing to reach the compound. But just before she burst through the trees, she noticed another smell, hidden under the oppressive scent of smoke. It was a surprisingly pleasant smell, so enticing it made her almost lose the contents of her stomach; the smell of roasting meat.

* * *

The sight that met her eyes, when at last she found herself at the compound, was one of nightmarish horror. The entire compound was burning, a smoking crater where the armory used to be giving an excellent indicator of the source of the flames. Through the flickering glow of the flames, she could see her friends, her companions, burning alive. The screams were heart-rending and terrifying, and she knew she could do nothing to help them, for through it all, a black figure calmly strode. It moved through the flames as if they weren't even there, completely unfazed, almost seeming to flicker and move with the light. She thought that it might be some sort of Grimm, but she had never heard of such a Grimm, certainly not one that moved with such a sense of foreboding purpose. With its height and surprising thinness, Rogue could not help but be reminded of some sort of omen of death. With calm, deliberate motions, it moved through the carnage, approaching the dying members of her cell. Whenever it came close enough, a long, black sword would materialize in its left hand, and with a single swing, it would remove the head of its victim. Some members of the organization who had escaped the flames were attempting to shoot the monster, but those bullets which hit it did not even slow down, passing through as if it wasn't even there. Rouge began to back away slowly, doing her best to make no noise, but, as if alerted by some sixth sense, the creature looked up from the slaughter, turning its head directly towards her. The monster had no face, instead its black head glowed with orange light, reflecting the light from the flames. Seeing that horror, Rouge made the only sane decision, she turned on her heel and she _ran_.

* * *

Now, I would like to say that Ms. O'Hare made it safely out of the woods; that she returned to the town and found safe haven, but I'm afraid that neither she, nor any other member of the White Fang ever made it out of that jungle. When the villagers finally went to find the source of the fire, all they found was the gutted remains of the compound, a pile of headless corpses, and an arrangement of meticulously cleaned skulls, spelling out a single word, **Taurus**. And somewhere far away, in a dimly lit corridor, on a table which additionally held two masks, a helm, and a hat, sat a mask of obsidian glass, just slightly stained with ash and blood.


	5. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, finally made it through the prologues. They were probably unnecessary, but I, as well as many others, loved the RWBY character trailers, so I wanted to capture a little of that spirit. That being done, let's get right into the story, shall we?**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Corona Drake**

A certain knight stood over the disassembled pieces of an assault sword and collapsible shield. Blond hair, not quite long enough to reach her shoulders, hung down in front of citrine eyes. Out of her armor, she wore a simple yellow shirt, her red, wing shaped symbol decorating the shoulder blades, and a pair of blue jeans. Picking up a rag and one of the many pieces of the shield, the knight began to slowly, methodically remove every trace of dust, ash, and blood that she could find. In such a manner, the time slipped by, until a sudden weight attached itself to her back. The knight did not even pause in her work, the arms draped over her shoulders and twin locks of white hair in her peripheral vision giving her a good idea of just who had decided to invade her personal space. As the moment stretched on into a minute, the white haired girl behind her began to give out a distinctly vulpine whine, rubbing her head into the knight's back.

"Corona," the Faunus whined, "it's no fun if you just ignore me."

Sighing, Corona turned around, looking down at the much shorter girl. "Rin, I'm working. I can't entertain you right now."

"But I'm bored," Rin replied petulantly.

"Then why don't you go bother one of the others?"

"Well, Viper is out, turning in a bounty or something. The boss has made it very clear that she isn't willing to put up with my shit, and when I went by Obi's room, there were some pretty scary noises coming out, so I thought it'd be best if I just stayed clear for now, you know."

"Well, what makes you so sure that _I'll_ be willing to put up with your shit, as you put it."

"That's simple," Rin said, wrapping her arms back around Corona's neck. "It's 'cause you love me so much."

Corona rolled her eyes, though the slight smile that played on her lips somewhat ruined the effect. She gently removed Rin's arms before leaning back against the table where her weapons lay. "Setting that aside, I suppose Sabre and Guard can wait. What is it exactly that you want from me?"

Rin smiled, not put off in the least by Corona's lack of enthusiasm. "Well, I was hoping you could tell me a story."

Corona's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "A story, huh? What kind of story, exactly?"

"Well, it occurs to me that in all the time we've known each other, you still haven't told me how you met the boss."

Corona sighed in response. Rin seemed particularly adept at eliciting that particular response from her. "Is that all? Knowing you, I thought you were going to come up with something much more extreme."

Rin beamed. "Were you disappointed? If you wanted something extreme you could have just asked. We could always try to steal the boss's underwear."

Corona's hand shot up, covering Rin's mouth with a distinct slapping sound. Looking around furtively, she then turned a glare on her white haired companion. "Well, since I don't really feel like dying, story it is." Removing her hand from Rin's mouth, she combed a hand through her hair, removing any errant strands from her face. "Mind if I work while I talk?" Corona asked. Rin pouted, but relented with a nod. "Well, it's been, what, almost twelve years now..."

* * *

On the continent of Anima, in the kingdom of Mistral, there was a certain organization, whose sole purpose was to train young women to be fighters of unparalleled skill. This organization was known as The Amazon Group. Mostly composed of orphans, its students were selected in infancy, and put through vigorous training, which only a select few ever managed to complete. No one really knew why they only accepted females, but the popular theory involved the tacit orders of the Head Master of Haven Academy, and an old fairy tale. Whatever the reason, this organization had produced some of the most powerful warriors in history, and it was this organization which was responsible for the upbringing of a certain young knight.

The sound of trumpets sounded through the halls, rousing Corona from slumber, heralding the beginning of another day in the barracks. With precise, practiced movements, she put her bedding in order, dressed in her uniform, and stood in front of her bunk, waiting for inspection. Inspection went smoothly, as it always did. It had taken years for that sort of perfectionism to be drilled into them, but drilled in it was, to the point where it was almost unconscious, merely second nature to them now. Her instructor had stopped briefly in front of Corona, handing her a folded note, then moved on. After they had been dismissed, Corona took the opportunity to read the note, noting that it was a summons to her commander's office. Knowing the importance of punctuality, she made all due haste to the officers' building, knocking quietly on the commander's door. Hearing a firm "Enter," Corona entered the office.

When she entered, there were two things of immediate note. First was Commander Argona sitting at her desk, peering sharply over steepled fingers. Dressed in a black uniform, her lilac hair provided a sharp contrast. Her heterochromatic, blue and green eyes were currently directed at the other object of interest in the room. The individual in question was a young girl, though not much else could be discerned by Corona, as the girl was currently seated with her back to the door. What she could see, though, was that the girl had long, apple red hair, and that she was fidgeting nervously. Commander Argona's gaze shifted, taking in the sight of the newcomer to her office, leaning back as she did so. With a gesture, she made it clear that she wished Corona to sit down with them. Corona took a seat next to the other girl, a quick glance taking in the other girl's emerald eyes and nervous expression.

"Squire Drake," the commander said dryly, "we've been expecting you."

"Yes, ma'am," Corona replied calmly.

"Do you know why you are here, Squire?"

"I have an idea, ma'am."

"I suppose you would. After all, it was once you sitting in the other chair, eh?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, for the sake of formality, I will tell you anyway, shall I?"

"As you wish, ma'am."

"This little one has recently reached the age of seven. As you know, that means that it is time for her to be assigned a mentor. And as you are now fourteen, you are now qualified to serve as a mentor. Therefore, I have decided to assign you to the position of mentor for the girl, understood?"

"Understood."

"Very well, I will leave the rest to you." With a wave her hand, Commander Argona signaled that their meeting was over, and that they were to leave. With a nod of her head, Corona rose from her seat, making her way to the door. Just as she was about to leave the office, she noticed that the young red head had yet to move from her seat. Corona rolled her eyes, internally chiding herself for not having better control over such reactions, and turned back.

"Page," she barked.

"Y-yes?" the girl responded.

"Come."

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry." Turning back around, she heard the sound of the young girl scrambling to catch up to her. As she walked she spoke up again.

"As you no doubt heard from the commander, I am Squire Drake. You shall refer to me as such, or ma'am, at all times, understood?"

"Y-yes, m-ma'am. My name is..."

Corona whipped around, glaring down at the child. "Did I ask for your name?" she snapped.

"N-no, ma'am."

"Then keep it to yourself. Maybe, if you ever become worth my time, I might bother to learn your name."

"I'm sorry."

Silence settled over them, unbroken as they made their way to the classrooms. When they had reached the instructional building, Corona stopped, turning to look at her young charge. "You will return to your class, and resume your normal training. When class ends, however, instead of returning to the barracks, come find me at the sparring ring."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Be certain you don't forget. If I have to come find you, I'm not going to be happy."

"Y-yes, I'm sorry." The girl turned around practically running in her haste to get away. Corona shook her head, they were going to have to work on the girl's overly hasty apologizing. Turning towards her own classes she set out to another day of learning.

* * *

When classes finally ended, she made her way to the sparring ring, expecting to have to wait for a while for the page to arrive. She was pleasantly surprised, however, to find a short figure with vibrant red hair waiting for her to arrive. Smiling softly, she reached out, placing a hand on the girl's head. "You ready, Page?"

"Ready for what?" the red head asked, her nervousness for once seeming to be overwhelmed by curiosity.

"Well, one of the main reasons you were assigned a mentor was so I could teach you to fight. So, we're going to find out just what kind of weapon suits you best."

"Really," she asked, eyes shining, "how are we going to do that?"

Corona chuckled, happy to see the girl so lively. Motioning for the girl to follow her, she made her way into the practice arena, leading the page to a wall covered in weapon racks. The racks were filled with blunted weapons. Picking up her usual sword and round shield, she waved her hand lazily at the racks. "Just pick something that feels right. We can worry about the firearm component after you've decided on a base. After all, the nature of the base weapon limits the type of firearm which can be attached."

"Yes, ma'am," the girl said, fingers already ghosting over the many weapons there, eyes alight.

"You really like weapons, don't you, Page?"

"It's not the weapons, exactly, ma'am. But when I fight, I'm reminded of all the people in this world that need help, and how I get to be a part of keeping them safe, you know?"

Corona nodded, then made her way to the center of the ring. "You've got a long way to go before you can protect anyone. Now find a weapon and attack." Needing no other encouragement, the page grabbed a short axe from the wall, then made her way into the ring, holding the axe in both hands. Corona shook her head, chuckling. "If you're going to use one of those, hold it in one hand. That frees up your other hand to grapple with your opponent, and if you need extra power in your swing, you simply grab onto the haft as you swing, then release it when you complete your attack. Nodding, the red head made the adjustment, then looked up at Corona. Getting a nod of confirmation, she launched into an attack. Her speed and strength surprised Corona, but she was still just a child, and Corona easily blocked the blow with her shield. The page was unfazed, however, and used the momentum of the rebound to spin the other way, attempting to attack from the other side. Unfortunately, that took far too long, and Corona kicked her in the side as she spun, sending her flying.

"A clever attempt, but you leave yourself open to retaliation. If you're going to pull stunts like that, you need to be able to defend yourself at the same time. Go grab a shield off the shelf."

The page nodded, and did as instructed. Noting that there were many types, she hesitated, but, noting Corona's own shield, chose a matching targe. She turned back towards her instructor, she nodded to show her readiness. Corona decided that this time, she would be the one to initiate combat, and moved forward. Not bothering with speed, she slowly brought her sword up, then brought it down with crushing force. Her young charge attempted to block the blow, but the force of the swing drove her to her knees. Corona followed up with another kick, knocking the axe from the girl's hands.

"Not all attacks should be blocked. That strike was slow, and could have been easily dodged. It takes much more energy to absorb a hit than to simply move out of the way. Remember that. Now, it's your turn." The page got up, moving to pick up her axe. Corona rolled her eyes, aiming another kick at the page's unprotected back. She was surprised, however, as the page rolled forward before her boot connected, retrieving her axe as she went.

Looking up at Corona from a crouched position, one corner of her mouth twitched up in a smirk. "Never turn your back on an opponent, right?"

Corona chuckled at that. "Nice to see that you're not completely useless. Now if you could just land a hit, I might be impressed." The page's smirk faded at that, mouth hardening into a determined line. Rushing forward, she launched into a flurry of blows, each of which was easily, almost lazily blocked by Corona. Soon enough, she tired, her strikes slowing, eventually stopping altogether. She leaned heavily on her axe, panting heavily. Corona put up a hand, signaling a stop.

"Not bad. We'll break here." Sheathing her sword, she moved over to a nearby wall, leaning against it calmly. "What do you think of your current armament?"

The page looked at the weaponry she held, then back at Corona. "I have no complaints about the shield, but I don't care for the axe. It takes too long to swing, and it's too predictable."

Nodding, Corona took the axe from the red head's hand, returning it to the rack. In exchange, she retrieved a sword, similar to, but slightly shorter than her own. "Then, when you're done resting, use this."

"Yes, ma'am," the girl said, taking the blade. That done, Corona leaned against her wall, waiting for the girl to catch her breath.

Continuing her habit of surprising her instructor, the girl recovered in a remarkably short amount of time, soon ready to continue the fight. Corona raised her shield and drew her blade, motioning for the girl to advance. The girl did as instructed, striking with a quick thrust. Corona quickly understood what the girl had been getting at, as the addition of the ability to thrust, as well as the much larger surface of the blade added an element of unpredictability to her attacks, keeping Corona on her toes. When they broke this time, Corona had actually broken into a light sweat, though the girl was still significantly more exhausted.

"Well," Corona inquired, "what do you think?"

"I like it," the girl replied, nodding solemnly. "Though, I sometimes wish it had more range."

Corona chuckled at that, "Something to keep in mind when you build your own weapon, but I think it'll do just fine for now. Go get some rest, kid. Tomorrow, the real fun begins."


	6. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: An Uncertain Path**

After that, they trained daily, the page continuously impressing Corona with her rapid progress. For months, this training continued without incident, until a certain event disrupted the normal flow of their daily routine.

Their sparring match started out normally enough, Corona's apprentice having progressed to the point where she actually posed a significant threat. They traded blows for a while, simply to build up physical strength, before Corona signaled a halt. Moving to one end of the ring, her apprentice mirrored her movements on the other end.

"Now," she said, raising her sword, "let's see what you've learned."

The page circled cautiously, looking for an opening. Not content with simply waiting, Corona moved forward, directly toward the page. The young red head, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on her instructor, slowly backpedaled, attempting to keep her distance. Soon, however, she met a certain obstacle to her movement, namely the edge of the ring. Corona smirked at the blunder. "Keep one eye on your surroundings. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

Her page didn't respond, simply waiting at the edge. Corona had to give this much to the little one, she had nerve. With a burst of speed, she lunged forward, thrusting at...nothing. In the corner of her eye, she saw the page rolling around her, positioning herself on Corona's unprotected right side. Corona, however, used the momentum of her thrust to spin around, catching a swing on her shield, before countering with her own upper cut. The page parried the blow with her blade, bashing with her shield. Catching the bash with her own shield, Corona tried a sweep with her leg, but the page leapt over it. Corona had anticipated this, though, and swung her blade in a vicious sideways slash. Her page reacted quickly, raising her shield to block the strike, but without her feet to anchor her and absorb the shock, the force of the blow threw her backwards. She hit the ground hard, rolling as she did so, before landing on her back. Coughing, she struggled to get up, looking around for the sword she had dropped as she fell. Corona did not relent, thrusting down hard enough to pierce the ground as her page rolled out of the way. The child's shield had become loose, and a heavy downward slash knocked it from her hand. She prepared to deliver the final blow, only to have her attack blocked by the red head's blade. She could not mask her surprise. _Wasn't her sword on the other side of the ring just now?_ Shaking off her confusion, she raised her shield to block her apprentice's counter, or, at least, attempted to raise her shield, as it seemed to be locked in its current position, unmoving. _Now, that is interesting._ The page stopped her blade inches from Corona's throat; the fight was over. Corona nodded in approval, before making her way to a bench to recover. Meanwhile, her apprentice retrieved her fallen shield, before sitting down next to Corona.

"...me," Corona muttered.

"Ma'am?" the page asked.

"I said, I think it's about time you told me your name."

"Oh," the page said, "it's Nikos. Pyrrha Nikos."

Corona nodded, smiling just slightly. "Nice to know you, Pyrrha Nikos."

"So, what now?"

"Now, now we start your semblance training."

"Really?" Pyrrha asked, her eyes shining.

Corona chuckled. "Don't be so quick to get excited, this means I get to use my semblance from now on, too."

"Oh, right."

* * *

And so, seasons came, and seasons went, and soon enough, four years had passed. Soon, Corona would graduate and be knighted. Then, a visitor came to The Amazon Group who would change her life forever. The first she heard of this visitor was the announcement that all squire level candidates were to assemble in the main hall in full combat gear. Along with the other members of her dorm, she retrieved her armor and weapons, before making her way to the hall. Once there, she broke ranks in order to collect Pyrrha, who had, a year ahead of schedule, just achieved the rank of squire. She directed the girl to stand next to her in line. When all the squires had fallen in, Commander Argona stepped forward.

"Squires, I know you must have questions as to why you have been summoned. Fear not, I will answer these questions forthwith." As she spoke, another woman strode up beside her. Her hair was long, unruly, and black as night. Her eyes were bright red, matching her rather ludicrously short, kimono-like apparel. "This woman," the commander continued, "is part of an organization which has had a long-standing association with our own. In light of this association, we have been requested to lend them aid whenever they have need of it. Therefore, she has been sent today to acquire a resource that only we can provide."

 _Resource,_ Corona thought, puzzled, _but the only resources we have are..._

"That's right. As many of you have, no doubt, concluded, this means that one of you will be leaving us today." Even years of militant discipline could not suppress the murmuring that swept across the hall at this statement. The commander held up her hand, though, and silence returned to the hall. "I'm afraid that if you are chosen, you will most likely never return to this place. But, you have all sworn your lives to the defense of the people, and do not doubt, the work you do will be for the sake of the people."

As soon as the commander had finished speaking, the woman in black and red made her way from the front of the hall towards the first row of candidates. Sometimes she passed a candidate without a second glance, sometimes she would stop for more than a minute, examining them from head to toe. In the end, though, these too she passed. Eventually, she came to Corona and Pyrrha's row. When she got to Corona, she stopped, looking her over her carefully, but in the end she apparently did not find what she was looking for, for she moved on. She almost passed Pyrrha completely, but then suddenly stopped, turning to look at her. Looking into Pyrrha's emerald eyes, her own ruby eyes widened in apparent surprise. Nodding to herself, she began to raise her hand. Before she could though, an armored gauntlet latched onto her wrist, holding her arm in place. She looked down at it in bemusement, before following it back to its owner, none other than Corona herself. Commander Argona stepped closer, opening her mouth to reprimand Corona, but the raised free hand of the other woman stopped her in her tracks. Ruby met citrine, and the edge of her lips turned upward in a smirk.

"You'll do."

* * *

"It's not right." Pyrrha shouted, later. "Why did you step in?"

"Because, you're not ready. Not ready to fight, and certainly not ready to die."

Corona and Pyrrha were currently in Corona's dorm, the former packing the few possessions she owned, while the latter paced furiously.

"But I don't want to say goodbye."

"Either way, we still would be parted. But, I have no intention of saying goodbye. One way or another, we will see each other again. I promise." Having gathered all that she was planning to take, she made her way out of the room. Just before she crossed the threshold, however, she stopped. "Pyrrha?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

* * *

"And after that?" Rin asked. Corona had long since finished cleaning and rebuilding her armament, and the two were lying on their shared bed, facing each other.

Corona sighed. "A few years later I learned that she had left The Group, gone to Sanctum Academy."

"Pyrrha Nikos," Rin said, testing the name. "She's pretty famous, isn't she?

Corona shut her eyes, grimacing. "She was."

Rin's eyes widened. "Was?" she asked hesitantly.

Corona rolled away, facing the other direction. "Beacon."

Rin gasped. "Oh. I'm sorry. I...I'm-"

Corona twisted around, reaching over to clamp her hand over Rin's mouth. "Yeah. She was always sorry too." Rin nodded, and Corona removed her hand, kissing her on the forehead. "Now go to bed, we've got training tomorrow."


	7. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Shiromori Rin**

When Corona awoke, it was to find Rin nestled snugly in her arms. Smiling softly, she gently held her partner, running a hand up to stroke her silky white hair. Eventually, she moved on to rubbing Rin's ears, tracing their shape gently. On her left ear, there was a triangular split near the tip, an old scar. Corona frowned as she traced the scar, hating whatever unknown entity had dared to harm her little fox. Continuing her, let's call it manual examination, she reached the start of Rin's tattoos. Examining the complex images that marked her partner's skin, she thought, as she often did, of the day the two of them had met.

* * *

 _Three years ago._

In the northern reaches of Atlas, two figures trudged through a forest of white. The only sound to be heard was the crunch of snow beneath metal boots. One figure, encased in golden armor, was feeling the effects of the cold. "Oberon," she said, voice reverberating in her helmet, "how long until we reach the village?"

The black clad figure by her side cocked his head slightly, considering the question. Without a word, he dissolved into a black mist, which travelled up the side of a nearby tree. Reaching the top, he solidified, and looked out over the forest. Seeing the village, he descended and returned to Corona's side. "Two miles," he answered, voice little more than a whisper. The faceless helmet turned to face her, and he seemed to study her for a time. "You are cold."

Corona raised an eyebrow, the effect of which was rather dampened by her own helm. "Of course I'm cold. Aren't you?"

"No."

"That must be nice."

"No."

She stared at him, wondering if she should ask, but ultimately deciding against it. "Understood. We should probably keep moving."

"Yes." The conversation, if it could be called that, having reached its conclusion, they set out once more. It was not long before they reached the aforementioned village, an isolated settlement in the wilderness. The front of the village was defended by a stone wall, while the back abutted the side of a mountain. The gates of the village stood open, and Corona could see no sign of guards. Before they entered the village, she snapped her fingers, and Oberon dissolved, melding with her shadow on the ground. Thusly hidden, they made their way into the settlement. However, when at last they entered, it was to find the streets empty, the houses dark, and the air silent. Corona could not see anyone, but the tingling sensation being produced by her aura meant someone was watching them.

"How many?" she whispered to her companion.

"More than a hundred within range. They are hiding in the buildings, weapons trained on us. Should we tell them we can sense them?"

"No, better to let them believe they have the upper hand."

"Very well." Corona could not see his face, but she rather thought that she had heard a hint of a pout in Oberon's voice. Together they made their way towards the center of the village, where an ornate shrine stood at the top of a small hill. Just as Corona's foot was about to cross the threshold of the shrine, she felt a thin, sharp object press against the back of her neck.

"You really ought to pay more attention to your surroundings," said a melodic voice behind her. Corona slowly turned to see a short, white haired fox faunus standing behind her, holding what appeared to be some sort of needle to her throat. Taking off her helmet, Corona smiled at the girl.

"Is that so?" Corona replied, unfazed. "Perhaps you should pay more attention to where you step."

"What?" the girl asked, lost, before looking down to see a gray, metal gauntlet rising out of Corona's shadow, holding a wicked black sword that was conveniently poised to go straight up into her heart if she came any closer. "Oh... Wait, no, what?" Oberon apparently decided that that was his cue, as he took that opportunity to rise up out of Corona's shadow, solidifying as he went. Finished, he towered over the faunus, leaning slightly over her in order to increase the sense of looming intimidation. The faunus's jaw dropped at the sight of him. "Yeah, no, that is like, eleven different kinds of cheating."

A deep rumbling chuckle was Oberon's only reply. His blade, which he had yet to withdraw from its proximal location to the girl's chest, dissolved into shadow, racing up his arm where it blended with the black of his jacket. Soundlessly, he moved out of the way, allowing Corona an unobstructed view of her would be assailant. The white haired girl looked to be a few years younger than Corona, and wore a white and purple jumpsuit, that Corona thought accentuated her form nicely, highlighting just the right, - _nope, nope, not going there. This is not the time to be ogling the locals, even if she is really pretty and probably smells nice, and-_ a flick to the side of her head brought her back to reality, and the confused expression on the fox faunus' face let her know that she had, in fact, been standing there staring for some time. Looking left, she saw Oberon withdraw his hand, presumably having been the one that flicked her.

Feeling a blossoming heat in her cheeks, Corona coughed awkwardly. "We have business with the leader of this village. Do you know where we could find them?"

"Maybe," came the sing-song reply. "Why should I tell you?"

"Your village is in danger, and we have come to help defend it."

"And what, pray tell, does Raven Branwen want with our temple?" asked a voice from the crowd. At the sound of the voice, the crowd parted, revealing an elderly, shaven headed man. Corona turned to face this newcomer.

"Why do you assume this has anything to do with the temple?" she asked.

"She is not the type to go out of her way to help people. Thusly, we must have something she wants, no? And since the only thing that makes us any different from your average village is our temple, it is simple logic to conclude that her goal is the temple." Corona looked to Oberon, wondering if he agreed with the man, but, unsurprisingly, his mask gave no indication of the mind beneath.

Looking back to the man, she replied, "As for my master's intentions, I cannot say, but we have been ordered to protect you, and protect you we will."

The man shrugged. "I see no reason to turn away help that is freely offered, but I must say that we have no reason to believe we will be attacked. If you still wish to remain, however, you may stay in the temple. My granddaughter will show you to the guest rooms." The fox faunus giggled and grabbed Corona's hand, dragging her along with a skip in her step. However, she quickly came to a stop, realizing that Oberon had not moved from his spot in the middle of the square.

"Umm, aren't you coming?" she asked hesitantly.

"No," Oberon replied, his voice still soft, though surprisingly firm. "I will remain." The fox looked back at Corona, who shrugged. Hesitantly turning back, she made her way to the temple, periodically glancing back at Oberon with a troubled expression. Shrugging it off, she dragged Corona through the doors, leading her to the second floor housing, directing her to exterior room overlooking the square. Saying a warm goodbye, she disappeared back into the temple proper. Corona looked out the window, where she could see Oberon standing immobile, though she had no doubt that his eyes were roving constantly, watching for any sign of enemy attack. Turning away, she could feel the fatigue of their snowbound trek getting to her, and decided that now was as good a time as any to catch what sleep she could.


	8. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Moonlight and Flames**

The moon was high in the sky when Corona was awoken by a sudden sound. In less than ten seconds she had rolled off the bed, landing in a crouch with the bed between her and the door, eyes scanning the room and sword raised to deal with any prescient threats. She quickly locked on to a figure sitting on the windowsill, relaxing slightly as she saw the moonlight reflect off white hair and fox ears.

"Calm down, soldier," chuckled the faunus. "It's just me." Corona lowered her sword, moving out from behind the bed.

"What are you doing here?" Corona demanded.

"What do you want me to be doing here?" she replied suggestively. Corona rolled her eyes, nonplussed. The girl smiled, unaffected by her lack of reaction. "I was just thinking we didn't really get a chance to talk earlier, and you seem interesting."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. So, let's start with something easy, like your name. Oh, wait, I should tell you mine first. I'm Rin, Shiromori Rin."

"Corona Drake," she replied with a small smile. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Corona, huh. That's a pretty name." She looked out the window, down to the square where Oberon still stood, unmoving. Corona noted that the gates had been closed, and she guessed that was a precaution against the night. "What about him?"

"Oberon."

"Oberon..."

"Just Oberon."

"Oh, um, is he just gonna stand out there all night?"

"Unless something happens, yes."

"Doesn't he need to sleep?"

Corona shrugged in response, not really having a good answer to that question. Rin regarded her curiously, studying her features. Then with a sigh, she asked the question that had really been eating at her.

"Who is Raven Branwen? And why does my grandfather know her?"

"As for the second question, I must confess that I do not know. As for the first, she is a former huntress, and is currently my master. Beyond that, I know little. She's not exactly the type to share personal stories, and I'm not the type to question orders. I do not know why we are here, but I promise, we wi-" she stopped short as the room went dark, the moonlight suddenly blocked by the shadowy profile of Oberon.

"Incoming hostiles," was his deadpan report.

The two women's eyes widened at his words. Corona was the first to recover from the surprise. "How many and how long?"

"Perhaps three hundred. At their current speed we've got maybe thirty minutes."

Corona nodded, then turned back to Rin. "How many of the villagers can fight?"

Rin grimaced. "Not enough, not nearly enough."

"Is there a way to get everyone out without being detected?"

A nod. "There is a tunnel built into the back of the temple. It leads to the base of the mountain, in case we were ever attacked."

"Good. Wake the villagers, and tell them to take refuge in the temple. While you're at it, gather all those who can fight, and tell them to make their way to the walls. We need to hold the line long enough for everyone to get away." When Rin nodded in affirmation, Corona turned to address Oberon. "Oberon, I need you t-" no one was there. "I guess he's already on it."

"On what?" Rin inquired.

"He will slow them down as best he can, and pick off any stragglers."

* * *

The forest was quiet, all the night animals having fallen silent, wary of the intruders on their mountain home. The invaders, too, were quiet, causing little more than a whisper as they passed. For all their stealth though, to Oberon they were like elephants trampling the earth. Concealed in shadows, he flitted through the trees, surveying his foes. _Well_ , thought the amused young man, _if they want quiet, I can help with that._ Dropping down behind them, he stretched out his arm, allowing his black sword to coalesce in his left hand. Soundlessly, he swiped his sword in a large arc. Three heads were separated from three bodies, and by the time they hit the ground, he had already disappeared into the shadows. From his perch in the trees on the other side of the troop, he heard the shouts as they realized they were under attack. He held up one head for study, having grabbed it as he went. It was male, of middling age, human. He appeared to have painted his face white, and his forehead was decorated with a rhomboidal, eye-shaped mark. A flash of memory, glowing red orbs, surrounded by black. Oberon's grip tightened as he recognized the sigil. _So, they follow her, do they?_

He shook his head, then looked below him. The group had reorganized themselves, wary of any attack, scanning their surroundings while continuing to move forward. Dissipating himself, he slid down the tree and made his way into the center of the group. Rising up, he spun in a circle, the resistance of necks, heads, and bodies barely slowing him down. It really was so much easier when your enemies couldn't manifest their auras. This time, however, he did not disappear, but stood silently in the center of his corpse circle. The enemies spun to face the threat that had appeared in their midst, raising weapons and training their sights on the black figure. One heartbeat, two, then flash and thunder, bullets flying through the night. Then silence and shadow, blood on snow. The bullets had passed through Oberon, hitting their own soldiers on the other side of him. Meanwhile, he had retreated into the trees. A hollow chuckle whispered on the wind. "Are you having fun yet? I know I am."

* * *

Corona stood on the walls, reviewing her ragtag assembly of fighters. Seven men, four women. Adding her, Oberon, and Rin, that made fourteen. Fourteen against three hundred. Yeah, somehow she didn't see this ending well. Add to that, there did not seem to be any sort of anti-siege weaponry, and she was really hoping for good news. Rin ran up the wall, coming to a stop in front of Corona. The knight raised an eyebrow at her fox-eared companion, who shook her head sadly. "The tunnel is only wide enough for one at a time. It will take forty minutes to get everyone out, at the least." Corona sighed. Fourteen against three hundred for forty minutes. Just keeps getting better and better.

For the next thirteen minutes, she went around, assigning positions, Rin following behind. Then she made her way to the gate, glancing behind her. "Who's the best fighter you have," she questioned Rin.

Rin looked around at her fellow villagers, then back at Corona. "Me, if I'm being honest."

Corona nodded, sensing that it was not mere ego that made her respond that way. "We will hold the gate. It's the weakest point in the wall, so they will concentrate their attack there."

"What about the walls? Won't they try to scale them?"

"Of course. That's why we will leave the gate open."

"What?"

"With their numbers, overrunning the walls would be easy. However, if the gate is open, then they will instinctively go for it. However, by assaulting the gate, they limit their ability to swarm us. This will make it easier to hold them off. Besides, if any do go for the walls, the others will be there to pick them off.

Rin considered her words, then nodded and joined Corona as she passed through the open gate. It was not long afterward that the shadows beside them shifted, and Oberon appeared by Corona's side.

"Not long now," he said, looking into the forest. True to his word, less than a minute passed before shadowy figures began to slip forth from the shadows. On and on they came, till an army of spectres stood silhouetted in the light of the moon. Then, with a single motion, dozens of torches were raised and lit, illuminating the faces of their attackers. Every one of them had the same white paint on their faces, the same red eyes on their foreheads. So there they stood fourteen against an army, and death lay heavy on the night, lit by moonlight and flame.


	9. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Siege**

The firelight flickered on the two sides, and Rin could not help but feel the overwhelming odds they faced. She could feel the villagers fear, like a palpable cloud hanging over them as they hid behind the parapets, guns trained on the sea of foes. Her new, heavily armed companions seemed calmer than most, but she could still see the excessively tight grip the gold one had on her sword. On her other side, Oberon was silent and motionless, but something in his stance spoke of restrained excitement. That made her almost as nervous as the others' fear. It felt like an eternity that the two sides stood in silence. She wondered which side would break first. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Oberon raise his blade, its blade wreathed in a black glow. Chuckling to himself, he slowly extended his blade as far left as he could, then whipped it across, causing a wave of blackness to flow forth, traveling across the battlefield faster than its targets could react, and the enemy vanguard dissolved into a screaming, panicking mass of confusion and pain. Those not killed instantly were spattered with the blood and viscera of their fallen comrades, and many suddenly found themselves missing a limb or two, writhing on the ground in pain. Oberon began to laugh out loud. It was a deep, rumbling laugh, full of glee and bloodlust, and Rin was suddenly very glad that he was on their side.

Raising his sword again, Oberon charged, throwing himself into the enemy ranks. Corona seemed unsurprised by his action, retreating to cover the gate. Rin hesitated, unsure which way to go, but eventually decided to join Corona in the rear.

Oberon may not have been the most articulate or sociable person, but on the field of battle, he was an artist. He spun with the grace of a dancer, switching from a one-handed to a two-handed grip and back with the ease of years of practice. Dodging, twisting, disappearing and reappearing, he was a force of nature, a whirlwind of death and destruction, bodies and severed limbs piling up around him. All alone, he held back the center of the army, forcing the wings to swing wide to avoid him.

Rin realized, then, that he had deliberately divided the army to create simpler fights for her and Corona to fight. She reached into the pouches on her belt, drawing out a handful of needles. As the enemies approached, she picked her targets and let fly. With unerring accuracy, her needles finding exposed joints and throats, toppling her foes. As they raised their own weapons in response, she took a deep breath, and suddenly her enemies were below her, and she was falling fast. She dropped down, landing heavily on the chest of her nearest enemy. Shifting gravity laterally, she bounced to her next target, gripping them by the chin and back of their head, twisting violently. With a sickening snap, the white faced individual dropped to the ground. Switching gravity again, she found herself plummeting into the open sky. Retrieving more needles, she looked up at the ground throwing them up, at which point gravity reasserted itself and the needles rained down on her foes. Dropping back to the ground, she jumped into the crowd, striking and blocking as she went, holding back the tide of enemies.

* * *

Corona stood on the other side, holding up her shield. She could feel the impact if bullets on her shield and armor, bouncing off with little damage. Raising her sword, she fired staccato bursts, tearing through flesh and clothing. As they closed in, she braced herself, feeling the impact as the sea of humanity crashed into her. She began to slide backwards, boots digging into the ground. Tensing the muscles in her legs, she pushed back, breaking their momentum. She jabbed her sword forward, stabbing deep into enemy flesh. The narrowness of the gate limited the attackers, and she held firm. Perhaps she was not as fancy as Rin, perhaps she could not match Oberon's pure destructive power, but she could hold the line. Another wave surged forward, and she held the line. A hail of bullets peppered her armor and shield, and she held the line. They struck at her with blades and with hammers, _and she held the line._ It felt like hours of this unending surge, but it was only half an hour before a sudden cry pulled her attention up to the walls. There she saw the enemies swarming over the walls, the defenders falling like flies. Realizing the wall was lost, she pushed through the charging enemies, keeping low, using her shield as a ram. Finding Rin amongst the chaos, she saw that she was struggling to fight a larger opponent. Corona stabbed her sword through the man's throat, then held out her hand to Rin.

"We need to retreat."

"What about Oberon?" Rin asked.

"He'll have noticed it before I did. Come on."

Rin nodded, and followed Corona as she retreated. She could feel her aura weakening, taxed by the fighting. She was strong, but this was out of her league. Corona, however seemed strong and almost unaffected, even though she took many more hits than she did. She had to say, she was impressed by the blonde woman, and even though they were surrounded by foes, the gauntleted hand that pulled her along made her feel somehow safe. They made their way to the temple, dodging and weaving through the horde of enemies. As they reached the temple, they saw the last few villagers making their way into the tunnel. Corona and Rin followed, pushing in behind them. Looking back, Rin saw the enemy closing in, nearing the entrance to the tunnel. Just as they made it inside, she saw a long, thin object shoot toward her. She tried to react, but exhaustion slowed her movements and suddenly she felt a burning pain in her side as the object, a crossbow bolt dug into her abdomen, cracking through her depleted aura. She gasped with pain, and would have fallen but for the golden arms surrounding her, lifting her up.

"What do we do now?" she cried, gritting her teeth against the pain. "They're going to follow us!"

"Not if we seal the tunnel," Corona retorted.

How are we gonna do that, exactly?" the world was starting to go dark at the edges.

"Collapse the roof."

"How?" the blackness was creeping inward, obscuring her sight.

Corona stared at her, and Rin wondered what was going on behind that helmet. Handing Rin to one of the villagers she turned back, beginning to glow with golden light,and just before the darkness consumed Rin's sight, she thought she saw two golden figures appear at Corona's side.

* * *

Later, Rin woke to find herself covered in blankets, and looking around she recognized the inside of a tent. She attempted to get up, but felt a stab of pain in her stomach. Looking down, she saw that someone had removed her jumpsuit, and that her abdomen had been wrapped in bandages. Her tattoos covered her torso, flowed over her shoulders, and ran down her arms. Finding a loose pair of pants and a shirt lying folded next to her, she slipped into them, careful not to aggravate her wound. As she put it on, she found that the shirt had a surprisingly comforting smell to it, and one which was strangely familiar. Looking down at her chest, she saw a familiar set of scarlet wings. Realizing just whose shirt this was, she blushed slightly, but with a gentle smile, she made her way out of the tent. As she did, she found herself in a large campsite in the woods. All around her, she could see her fellow villagers speaking in hushed whispers, huddled around red dust crystals to keep warm without having to make fires, which would most certainly draw unwanted attention. Nearer to her tent, she saw three figures speaking, her grandfather and the two strangers who had protected her people. She noted that while Corona had removed her helm, Oberon's mask stayed firmly in place.

As she approached, two heads swiveled to face her, Oberon still looking off into the distance. "Rin," Corona said, letting out a relieved sigh. "You're up."

"Ha," Rin laughed, then winced as that only exacerbated the pain. "Takes more than that to keep me down."

Corona smiled. "So it would seem." She made room for Rin to sit, then turned back to a map that was sitting on the ground between them. "As I was telling your grandfather, it will be a few days before we can make it back to any sizable towns. While we doubt the bandits will follow us, but there's still a lot of things to be wary of out here, not least of which are the Grimm. That being the case, we will stay with you until you reach a safe haven."

"And then?" Rin asked.

"Then, we go home"

Rin looked at her grandfather, then back at Corona, biting her lip in thought. "Those people, they weren't actually bandits, were they?"

Corona looked to Oberon, who shrugged, then locked eyes with Rin once more. "No, no they weren't."

"And the attack on our village wasn't random, was it?"

"No."

"This is all part of something big, isn't it?"

"Most likely."

Rin sighed, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, they were filled with steely resolve. "Then I'm coming with you."

Corona seemed taken aback. "But, what about your people?"

"Like you said, we stay until they're safe, but after this, after what happened here, I can't just go back to living the kind of life I did before. I've seen what this world can be like, and I can't just go back to pretending like nothing is wrong."

Corona opened her mouth to protest, but a silver hand on her shoulder held her back. Oberon looked to the elder, "What say you? She is your granddaughter."

Her grandfather looked down, his brow furrowed. Sighing, he looked back up, resigned. "I would rather she was safe, but she is her father's daughter. If she feels that this is what she must do, then I will not stop her."

Rin smiled, hugging her grandfather. "Don't worry, grandfather, I'll make you proud."

"Proud is good, but I'd settle for you making it back to me in one piece."

* * *

 _One week later_

Rin found herself in a dark room, a corridor with only one door. Between her and that door stood a woman in red clothing, wearing an intricate Grimm mask. Beside her Corona knelt, addressing the woman. "-that is my report. I regret to say, that due to the destruction of the village, we were not able to retrieve whatever it was that you wanted from the temple."

"Unfortunate," the masked woman replied. "However, you protected the villagers as I asked, and we have a new recruit. Overall, I would call your mission a success. Show Ms. Shiromori to one of the rooms, then show her to the forge. If she's going to work for us, she's going to need some better equipment."

"Yes, ma'am." Corona stood up, then offered her hand to Rin. "Follow me."

With that the two left the room, leaving the masked woman alone with Oberon. Looking up at the taller man, she removed her mask, a smile playing on her lips. "I see that you managed to complete your objective, and without even having to resort to violence. Well done."

"The tapestry wished to come with us, of her own accord. Who was I to say no?"

"Then she does, indeed, have them."

"Yes, I saw her tattoos myself."

"Good. She will be of great use in the war to come." Oberon nodded, striding past the woman. Just as he passed her, she held out her arm, dropping a small object into his hand. "Make sure she gets that won't you?" Oberon held the object up to examine it. It was a red chess piece. The bishop.


	10. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Home and Hearth

Three warriors stood together, in the center of a stone ring. Back to back, they scoured the shadows around them, searching for the slightest signs of movement. With the fox and the knight at her back, Viper raised her twinned revolvers, listening for the smallest sounds. Sure, realistically the fox would hear things long before she would, but she didn't plan on taking any chances. Corona glowed enough that no creeping, slithering shadows could approach unseen, but that was hardly enough for her to let her guard down. That's when she heard it, that slight, distorted hum. Viper spun, time slowing as she did. She was pleased to see that Rin had reacted almost as quickly as she did. She raised her guns, firing into the widening portal between them, preempting any attack, only to feel a hand wrap around her leg. When did that- she looked behind her, and realized that the portal had simply been a distraction, making her turn away from the more present threat.

Without releasing his hold, Oberon thrust himself out of the ground, flipping Viper, causing her to fall into the portal. She could feel a deep discomfort as her body was pulled out of, and dropped back into, reality. She sensed, more than saw, a black boot swinging towards her, and she quickly rolled out of the way, leveraging herself back into an upright position. The sight before her, though familiar, still evoked chills. In the darkness, the dull, crimson glow of her boss's blade was the only light, leaving half her body in shadow, reflecting well off the crimson of her mask and clothes. Even the white of her mask took on a reddish hue. Viper took a few steps backwards, knowing that direct confrontation would not end well for her. In the distance, she could hear the sounds of combat as the fox and the knight battled the shadow, but she dared not look away from her avian opponent.

Gritting her teeth, she pressed down on the triggers, firing at the enemy. Unfortunately, Raven simply batted the bullets away, before rushing forward. One hand ever on her sheathe, she executed a series of flourishing slashes, Viper barely managing to keep up as she pressed the attack. At the end of her attack, she slid her blade back into its sheathe to recharge its dust. This was what Viper had been waiting for, and she quickly closed for the kill. Raven saw her coming and made to redraw her blade, but Viper leapt forward, slamming a foot down on the sword's crossguard, holding it in place. Releasing her hold on the sword's hilt, Raven grabbed Viper's foot, intending to throw her, but Viper twisted, using Raven's grip for balance and leverage, up and over her opponent's shoulder, and hooked her other leg around Raven's neck.

Raven struggled to throw Viper, but snakes are rather notorious for their grip, and Viper had no intention of letting go. Leaning backwards, she caused Raven to lose balance, falling back as well. Before she hit the ground, Viper put out her hands, levering her body and throwing Raven across the room. Raven managed to right herself in the air, landing on her feet, a deeply unamused look on her face. However, being thrown meant that Viper was out of her light, and with her enhanced night vision, the faunus had a clear advantage over the boss. Raven was not the type to give up, though, and she merely turned away, walking towards the fight going on across the room. Halfway there, she whistled, calling out "Switch."

 _Shit_. Raven continued to walk towards Corona and Rin, and Viper knew that meant she had a new opponent. Oberon. She reloaded quickly, knowing her respite was not going to last long. _Okay what advantages do I have? Sight? Nope. He never seems to have trouble in the dark and can literally become a shadow. Smell? Nope. He doesn't smell like anything. Hearing? Nope. He doesn't even have the decency to rustle when he walks. Taste and touch, maybe, but letting him get that close would definitely be a bad idea. Yeah, this is gonna go just great._ Sighing, she leveled her revolvers, resignation clear on her face.

"Are you done?" asked a whispering voice by her ear. She spun, whipping her guns around with her, and found Oberon right behind her, her blades passing harmlessly through his mid-section. With his right hand, he grabbed her by the face, slamming her down so that the back of her head crashed into the ground. Without her aura, it would at least have resulted in a concussion, if not shattering her skull. He pulled her head up, only to slam it back down. He repeated this process over and over, draining Viper's aura. All she could think as she futilely attempted to pry his hand off her face, was that he could have at least had the courtesy to use his sword.

Before long, her aura dropped below regulation minimum, and Oberon, released her. Helping her into a sitting position, he sat down next to her, waiting patiently for Raven to finish up with the others. They did not have long to wait, the couple's aura's buzzing out almost simultaneously. As the lights came back on, Viper looked up at the monitor. Her team, of course, were all showing red, while Oberon and Raven were still up above half. She smiled at the result. Usually, they were lucky to even touch the black themed duo, so this was quite an improvement over the norm. She climbed back up to her feet, Oberon rising next to her. She made her way over to her two teammates, then together they left the arena. As she went out the door, she saw Oberon and Raven circling each other at the center of the ring, swords extended in front of themselves.

Coming out of the arena, the three women found themselves in a windowless hallway, and Viper followed the others as they took the first door they encountered, entering a small kitchen/dining room. Rin hopped up to sit on the counter, while Corona busied herself with making sandwiches. Viper opened the fridge, pulling out a jar of pickles, then moved to the cupboard, pulling a bottle of whiskey from the top shelf, before grabbing a tumbler and pouring herself a generous serving. Corona looked over, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you still keep that up there?"

"Hey," Viper replied, acting offended. "Not all of us are of an age to drink, ya know?"

"You mean Obi? Ignoring the inherent logical issues with attempting to use childproofing tactics on an adult, he's the tallest of the five of us, so, you know, not that smart."

Viper shrugged. "You're right. Guess it's just force of habit. Or maybe I was trying to keep it away from your little fox?"

Rin pouted. "Jokes on you, Vipy. Corona would boost me up if I asked, so ha."

Viper looked over to Corona, amused. Corona simply shrugged, absently reaching over to move a lock of hair out of Rin's face. "I would."

Viper chuckled, sitting at the table and leaning back in her chair. The door opened, and Oberon joined them. She saw Raven behind him, but she did not stop to join them, continuing on down the hall.

Oberon looked around, spread hands and raised shoulders indicating inquisitive confusion. "Do I even want to know what we're laughing about?"

"Obi," Viper cried. "Save me, they're doing flirty things."

The masked man covered the lower half of his face in pantomime of shock. "What? The girlfriends are flirting? Consider me appropriately scandalized."

Viper smiled, tossing a spent shell casing at Oberon. "Sure, take their side." Oberon caught the casing, laying it on the table next to him. Viper watched him as she drank. In the two years she had known him, she had never seen him without that mask. She knew what he looked like, for there were pictures of him without it on around the base, but she had never, herself, seen him without it. Personally, she found that suspicious, but, seeing as neither of them seemed to object, she did not pursue the question. He sat down at the table, apparently unconcerned with retrieving food for himself, and crossed his legs. Corona finished preparing her sandwiches, handing one to Rin before turning around to lean back against the counter. Viper, meanwhile, opened the jar of pickles, tilting her head back and dropping it into her mouth, swallowing it whole. Raising her glass, she peered over its top to look at her comrades.

"So, you know I just got back last night, right?" The other three nodded. "Well, I was in Vale."

"How was it?" Rin prompted.

"It was a real shit show, kid. Buildings collapsed, houses burned, looters running rampant. They've been trying to pull themselves together, but..."

"People are terrified." Corona finished. "With Beacon so close, and the Grimm being attracted by the dragon, people are too scared to return."

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"What did Raven have you doing up there anyway?" Rin asked.

"She heard rumors of a sect of The Cult operating in Vale. I was asked to disband it, with prejudice."

Rin grimaced. The Cult of the Witch. The same people who had attacked her village three years ago. She pulled out the bishop piece she had been given to her back then. Oberon had explained that they all had one, and that while they did serve a symbolic purpose, the more important factor was the practical purpose they served. They contained a portion of Raven's aura, meaning that she could track them wherever they went in Remnant. That way, no matter where they were, she could open a portal directly to them, either to retrieve them or to go to their aid. Hers was the bishop, Corona the knight, Viper the rook, and Oberon the queen.

"-that's why I hate working with huntsman, ya know." Viper was saying as Rin focused back on the conversation. "Always so self-righteous, always expecting you to swoon over their rippling muscles like some distressed maiden. And that name, _Pirangus Winchester_ , seriously? I mean, ya sound like a cross between a piranha and a ribeye."

"Yeah," Corona replied with a chuckle. "They do tend to do that. Remind me to tell you sometime about the time I met Raven's brother."

"Hey, girls," Rin said, "anybody see where Oberon went?"

The other two looked around, confused. "Huh," Corona replied. "I didn't even notice he left.

* * *

At the other end of the compound, Oberon slipped under the door to Raven's room. He found the woman sitting on her bed, an old photograph in her hand. Her mask was off, lying on a nearby table, and Raven's crimson eyes were filled with barely restrained tears. Oberon did not need to look to know what the picture was of; after all, Raven had only ever taken pictures of one thing. He sat next to the shorter woman, gazing down at the photo. It was a photo of a young, brown haired woman, wearing a white cloak, dancing in firelight, a hand outstretched to the camera as if inviting the viewer to come dance with her.

Oberon wondered just how many photos Raven had taken of Summer, and just how many times she had sat alone like this, crying over her memory. Raven lay her head on his shoulder, and he could see drops of wetness rolling down his jacket.

"It's rude to enter someone's room without knocking." she said quietly, without any real anger. "Or, at the least, opening the door."

"The reason you brought me into this fight is because I can go wherever you need me to. And right now, the place you need me is here, so here I am."

"Smartass."

"Always."


	11. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Days Gone By**

 _Many years ago_

"Raven, Raaaven, Raaaaaaavvvvvveeeeennnn!"

Raven rolled over in her sleeping bag, covering her head with a pillow. _It is way too early in the morning for this crap._

"Raven, it's time to get up."

Raven simply groaned in response, until she felt a pair of small hands playing with her hair. _Aw, hell no._ Without even opening her eyes she reached up and dragged the offending individual down to her level, crushing them against her chest. Raven could feel them flailing, but they were no match for her strength.

"Help!" cried the voice, now suitably muffled. "Help! Tai! Qrow! I'm being smothered. I'm being smothered in a pair of giant boobs. Help. Ghrrk. I am the dead, blech."

A rough voice chuckled nearby. "I warned you, kiddo. It's never a good idea to poke the sleeping Raven."

A lighter, but masculine voice laughed as well. "Well, we do need to get going."

Sighing, Raven let go of her captured prize, before levering herself up. Qrow and Taiyang were waiting outside her tent, while their silver-eyed leader attempted to catch her breath next to Raven. "Summer, there is no need to get up this early. We already took care of the Grimm. Now it's just a matter of getting back to Vale."

"Yeah, but you promised to buy me cookies, so let's go." Summer grabbed her hand, trying to tug Raven to her feet. Raven sighed, getting to her feet. As soon as Summer looked away, though, Raven let a smile escape her lips. Summer skipped out of their tent, chattering brightly to Tai. Raven watched the two of them, a momentary darkness clouding her features, before she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking over, she saw Qrow looking at her. He shook his head, a sympathetic look on her face. Swallowing her discomfort, she set her face in a studied neutrality and followed her brother out to join their teammates. And so, the twins and their companions set out for Vale.

* * *

When they arrived at Vale, while Tai and Qrow went to report in on the results of their mission, Summer dragged Raven to her favorite cookie shop. Summer insisted on buying some for Raven too, and the female Branwen accepted them gratefully, turning away to hide her blush from her beaming team leader. Sitting together at a small table in the cafe, the two girls munched happily on their cookies. Raven could barely look her team leader in the eye, dazzled by the smaller girl's radiant smile. Summer inhaled cookie after cookie, her face getting covered in crumbs. Raven smiled, enjoying being able to watch Summer enjoy herself. She noticed a bit of frosting near the corner of Summer's mouth, and without thinking, she reached out and wiped it off. Summer stopped mid-bite, staring at Raven's hand.

Raven froze, stuttering. "Uh...um, I..."

Summer broke into the same smile that always came so easily to her. "Thanks, Rae. It's good to know I can always depend on my bestie."

"Yep, just the best of friends." Just _the best of_ friends _._ Raven did her best to not let her smile slip, nails digging into her palms. Just then, the door opened and their two teammates came through the door. They spotted the two girls, and made their way over to join them. Qrow spun a chair around, sitting on it backwards, while Tai scooted his chair over close to Summer. He whispered something in Summer's ear, and she giggled delightedly, batting her eyes at him. Raven could feel the mask of placid happiness slipping, but she fought to maintain it, her nails digging even deeper into her palms. _Of course. Of course I had to fall for you, didn't I? With you who cannot love me back. I should just get over you, shouldn't I? But I can't, can I? Because every day I have to be with you. Every day I am reminded of why I fell, of your kindness, of your smile, your beauty. And every day I have to watch you fall for him. Why? Why him? What does he have to offer you that I cannot? Just because he's a guy? Just because he-_

As always, her brother could sense her pain, and his hand found hers under the table, squeezing it gently to comfort her. That was Qrow for you. He might not always seem the most reliable, but when it came down to it, he was there for you when you needed him. She turned back to the others, the mask returning. "Hey, since we just got paid, what say we live it up a little, get wasted, ya know?"

The others agreed with little resistance, and so, that night found them at a club in downtown Vale. Usually, Raven was careful not to drink too much, always aware of her own limits, but tonight was different. Tonight she was angry, and sad, and the alcohol made it just a little better. And so, she drowned herself in drink, and tried to forget her problems for a little while.

* * *

She woke the next morning to a splitting headache and a feeling of dizziness. So bad was the pain, that she almost failed to notice the soreness in her limbs and the strange, unfamiliar pain in her abdomen. Wincing, she dragged herself up, looking at her surroundings. This was not her bed, and this was not her room. Then she noticed that she was not alone. Next to her, another form slumbered, a blonde, male form. Raven lurched back in shock, falling off the bed. That's when she realized she was naked. _No, no, no, no, no._ She clutched her temples, trying to piece together her fragmented memories, desperately trying to refute the truth which the evidence portrayed.

Dancing, drinking, _him_ , laughing, drinking, _him,_ fighting, drinking, _him._ How she hated him, how she envied him. Then, a thought; _have to know what she sees in him._ No, disgusting, male, never before. Then Summer laughs for _him._ Fine. Wait 'til they leave. Grab him. Push him into his room. Strip. _He_ has the audacity to resist. Protests about his feelings for Summer. Like she gives a damn about _his_ feelings. Then...no, that part can stay buried.

She hears a knock, and Summer calls to Tai from beyond the door. She tries to get up, to hide, but too late, and Summer opens the door. The expression on Summer's face then, the betrayal, the hurt, she thought that that would be the worst moment of her life. But no, a worse moment would come a few short weeks later, when she woke in the middle of the night and her leader, her best friend, the woman she loved, had to hold back her hair as she vomited into a toilet bowl. Pregnant. Funny how a single word can shatter all your hopes, all your dreams.

 _Other options? No, no, my mistake, my responsibility. Have the baby, keep the baby...then what? Stay; with_ him _? He would stick by me, I know he would. As much as I hate him, he's a good person. But, was that the right choice? Raise a baby in home where only mutual hatred lived? Spend every day knowing that I stand between the woman I love and the happiness she could have had? No, no, not good. What, then? Leave? It certainly wouldn't be the first time. But, there was only one place I can go now, and I will not bring a child to that place. Then, then...the child would have to stay too. He would be a good father. And Summer, well I don't doubt that with me out of the way, Summer will be free to be with him. Summer would be a good mother, would love my child when I_ _couldn't. Because, that's who Summer is, someone who loves unconditionally, regardless of the circumstances of one's birth. So, that was it then. Have the baby, then go back. Go back to the place we spent so long running from._

* * *

 _Present_

Oberon felt a change in Raven's breathing, and looking over, he saw that she had fallen asleep. He wondered where she had gone this time, what winding path of days gone by she had travelled down. He stood up, careful to make sure she did not fall, before lifting her and laying her properly in bed. Leaving her sleeping in her clothes was probably not the best idea, but that was something he was unequipped to change, and he knew that she would not want anyone else to see her like this. He picked up the photo, fallen onto the blankets, and turned to a box on the floor nearby. The lid was already partly open, so he pulled it back, and looked down at its contents. Hundreds of photos, hundreds of fragments of memories, lay scattered in the box. Precious mementos of a happier time. He placed the photo in his hand back amongst its fellows, then closed the lid, hearing its many locks sliding back into place. He turned on his heel, moving to the bedside. He reached out, laying a hand on Raven's head, his fingers ghosting over her hair. Then, without a word, he dissolved into shadows, slipping out beneath the door.


	12. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: How Vipy Met Obi**

 _Two years ago_

It was raining when Viper met her partner-to-be. She was crouching in an alley, curled up against the wall, trying to glean what protection could be eked out from the meager eaves of the surrounding buildings. The weather was generally warm in the southern islands of Anima, so the rain did not have the same bite it did in the distant north, but no matter how warm the water, if one could not get dry, chill would set in. She wished she could say that it was that cold which was responsible for the shaking running through her, but those tremors came from something deeper, something much more sinister. She could see the bustle of the busy streets, heard the carefree people passing her by. She hated those happy people. Hated them for living so free of care, when she was suffering. The logical part of her knew that these random villagers were hardly responsible for her current predicament, but the logical part of her wasn't really in charge right now. Another part of her, a large part, wanted nothing more than to walk out into the crowd, pull out her guns, and pull the triggers until they ran empty. And who knows, if she was still armed, she might have done exactly that. But she had sold her guns months ago, buying a few days respite from the tremors, the burning in her mind, the hunger. So, instead, she huddled under the eaves of some unknown building, hoping for the blessed respite of sleep.

* * *

When she felt the rain stop, she thought she had indeed fallen asleep. She looked up, seeing that the rain had not actually stopped, rather there was an umbrella covering her huddled form. The umbrella was composed of alternating purple and white stripes. Following the handle to the hand holding it, Viper's gaze then turned to the figure holding it; a white suited woman, face covered by a fox mask. The ears on top, however, appeared organic. A faunus, then. The faunus woman was crouching next to her, holding the umbrella so that it covered them both. She briefly wondered who this unexpected intruder was, before noticing the silver boots of a figure standing silently beside them. Her eyes travelled up, her fevered mind strangely fascinated by the fact that his jacket seemed like a black version of the ones common amongst Mistralian guard, with two functioning rows of buttons. Further up, very further up, she was confronted with a black, glass mask. He was a tall bastard, she'd give him that. And thin, too. If he were less than six and a half, she was a fish. And right now, she was about 72% sure she wasn't a fish. The figure loomed above her, leaning slightly towards her, and maybe it was the fever, but in the half darkness and the pouring rain, Viper thought she saw something of the reaper in that black clothed man.

"Is it time for me to go?" she asked, wearily.

The spectre cocked his head, confusion in his pose. "And just where do you propose to go, little faunus?" His voice surprised her by how high it was. By the sound of it, he was much younger than she would have initially guessed.

She shook her head. "I don't know."

The figure knelt down, reaching out a hand. Viper scrambled backwards, dragging her hand down the right side of her face to make sure that it was covered by her hair. The figure stopped in his tracks. "I mean you no harm. Please, let me see."

Her eyes darted to the fox, but the masked girl remained unspeaking, simply holding out the umbrella silently. She looked back to the other. It was strange. A faceless stranger should be terrifying, should inspire distrust and misgivings, but there was something about this stranger that was strangely comforting. There was no judgement in his mask, it simply reflected her own face back at her. When he again reached for her, she resisted the urge to back away. He first took her hand, examining its calluses and scars. She examined his gauntlets as well. They were interesting, each finger ending in a clawed point. On the back of each hand a black symbol was etched into the silver metal. The symbol was a complex knot in the shape of a crescent moon. She could tell he felt the way she shook through their contact, but he made no sign of acknowledging it. Instead he simply let her hand go, before reaching up to her face. The urge to run grew so strong that she nearly threw up, but she remained motionless. With surprising gentleness, the spectre pushed back the fringe of her hair, exposing the right side of her face. Almost that entire side of her face was covered in a large bandage, from her hairline, almost to her mouth. The bandage was soaked through, red staining the white. The fox girl gasped, raising a hand to her face, and she could see the black figure clench his other hand into a tight fist. Slipping his hand away, he allowed Viper's hair to fall back into place, covering the majority of her injury. Standing up, he stood a while in silence, before coming to a decision.

"Rin." he said, his tone commanding.

"Yeah, Obi?" the fox girl responded.

"Get back to the inn. Tell them we're going to be staying another night. Then, go to a store. Your clothes aren't going to fit her."

"Okay." With that, the fox darted off. Turning back to Viper, the so-dubbed Obi knelt down, before lifting Viper. Even as he lifted her, she fell unconscious.

* * *

Oberon was strong, sure, but even so, he knew that she should not be as light as she was. Without a word, he turned and began walking down the road, following the path which the fox had already disappeared down. It was not too long before the afore-mentioned inn came into sight. Oberon deftly hooked his foot beneath the pull bar of the door, and leveraged himself inside. The innkeeper, a young woman in a too short skirt, looked up, opening her mouth, no doubt to question why such a bedraggled woman had been brought to her establishment, but she apparently thought better of questioning the actions of the spectral figure, closing her mouth without comment. He whispered an order to her as they passed, then brought Viper to a small room, with two beds. He set Viper down on the bed and picked up a book.

* * *

When Viper awoke a few minutes later, she found herself in an unfamiliar room, with Oberon sitting in a nearby corner, reading. When he saw that she was awake, he handed her a robe, and pointed to the bathroom off to the side. Viper knew he was telling her to get out of her wet clothes, so she made to follow his directive. Halfway there though, she stopped in her tracks. Something about this guy's impassivity got under her skin, and she was seized with the desire to see him rattled. In the pursuit of this goal, she lifted up her drenched shirt right in the middle of the room, tossing it to the ground. She looked over her shoulder at Obi...who was ignoring her completely in favor of a book on creation myths. Defeated, she turned to go into the bathroom, only to be faced with the masked fox.

"Uh, do you guys need a minute?" Rin said, a teasing mirth in her voice.

"Apparently not," Viper replied.

Rin held out a bag in her hand. "Here's the clothes Obi asked me to get. I had to estimate your size, but they should fit well enough." Viper took the bag and moved into the bathroom, and changed into a set of warm pajamas. They did fit well, apparently Rin had a very precise eye. In addition to the pajamas, there were several full outfits, and a pair of sturdy boots. She wondered who these people were that they thought so little of buying so many sets of clothes for a complete stranger, but she did not intend to look a gift horse in the mouth. When she had finished, she poked her head out of the door, only to be promptly turned back around as Oberon joined her, indicating for her to sit on a stepping stool. She did as he prompted, and Oberon opened up one of the drawers beneath the sink, drawing out a sizable medical kit. He knelt in front of her.

"Look left." he said.

"Why?" she asked.

"Reflections."

It took her a moment to understand his statement. Then it hit her. If she looked directly at him, then she would see her injuries reflected in his mask. Touched by his simple consideration, she turned away, allowing him to work, unabated. He peeled away the old bandage, getting a look at the injury for the first time. She did not have to look to know the damage. After all, she could feel it. Two ragged claw marks ran down the side of her face, over the socket where her eye used to be. Again, he made no sound, but she could see the tension of anger in his stance. With surprising dexterity for the fact that he was still wearing metal gauntlets, he cleaned the wounds, checking to make sure the stitching she had done was holding. She was quite proud of her needlework, after all, stitching without depth perception was a hell of a feat. Finding no issue, Oberon put a new bandage over the wound, then put away the kit.

Together, they left the bathroom, Viper following meekly, only to be confronted by Rin. "Obi, the innkeeper came by while you were gone, told me you asked for this." She handed him a bottle of whiskey. "I don't remember you being a drinker, though."

It was surprising how much snark could be conveyed through posing alone. "It's not for me, idiot." Placing a tumbler on one of the bedside tables, he filled it with whiskey, then handed it to Viper.

"Okay, then," Rin remarked, confused. "Why?"

"The withdrawal." he replied, simply. Viper tensed, clutching her glass.

"Withdrawal? Alcohol withdrawal? Why would you give her more alcohol, then? Wouldn't that just compound the pro-"

Oberon held up a hand, bringing her to a grinding halt. "Not alcohol withdrawal. I gave her alcohol because it will help her keep her body from tearing itself apart. And no, that wasn't figurative."

"And what the hell kind of drug causes bodies to as you say, 'tear themselves apart?'"

Oberon looked to Viper, then turned back to Rin. "Dust."

"What?"

"I'm sure you've heard of consuming dust before."

"Yeah, sure."

"Well, doing that can be very addictive. There's a reason they say that power corrupts. And it's one thing if you take it willingly, but that's not always the case. You see, dust addiction is a very effective control mechanism. Some people..." he looked directly into Viper's eyes, then, "some people use it to control slaves."


	13. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: A Smile Much Worse Than Any Frown**

 _Fourteen years ago_

Viper, much younger and still possessing both eyes, sat in the dusty corner of a dark basement. Her hands were bound behind her, her legs chained to a ring on the floor. She shook then, too, but these were simply a response to the cold, as she had been stripped of any clothing outside of a thin shift. She had long since given up trying to break free; now she simply sat in silence, trying to keep back the nightmares of her memories. One moment she had been walking with her parents, chattering aimlessly, the next she was covered in blood, watching her parents fall, broken, to the ground. She had screamed, then, but no one came to rescue her. Instead, a sharp blow to the back of the head rendered her unconscious. When she had awoken, she was in this basement, tied down. For a long time, she tried to escape, to break free. Eventually, though, she had given up hope. She had cried then. Cried and cried, till there were no tears left. Cried for her parents, lying dead in the streets, crying for herself, locked away in darkness, and cried for the future, and the uncertainty in her heart. She knew not how much time had passed, but she felt that it had most likely been weeks. Now, as she sat in silence, she heard the door creak open. She thought little of the fact. After all, they had to come down to bring her what little food they gave her. But then she heard the voices, and realized that more than one person was coming down the stair.

"-yes, the product is just as I described, young, healthy, with a strong aura."

"And she is unspoiled?"

"Of course. We are professionals after all."

"Professionals, hmm. Then why did I see a report about a murdered couple and their missing child on the news?" The two came into view then. The first was a mousey, pinch-faced asshole in a wrinkled, moth-chewed suit. She knew this man to be one of her kidnappers. The other was unfamiliar to her. He dwarfed the other man, and was solidly built. He wore red leather pants and a matching jacket, lying open to expose an orange shirt. An orange baldric, slung from his left shoulder, loosely held the jacket together, while an ornate pauldron decorated his right arm. He had dark brown skin, and yellow eyes. His hair and beard were thick and wild, and a vibrant orange. The beard was thin on the left side, exposing a large burn mark on his cheek. There was a large streak of deep red running through his orange hair, matching his jacket and pants. His eyes were serious and stern, his mouth a hard line. He was the one who had been asking the questions. "I seem to remember ordering you to find me someone who would not be missed." The statement held an edge, and Viper knew that the other man was on thin ice.

He, on the other hand, seemed to think this was a good time to start making complaints. "Your orders were too specific. There was no way we could find some street rat that fit the bill."

The orange haired man smiled at his companion, and Viper could feel her skin crawl. "Oh, so you're saying it's my fault, then?"

The other man visibly paled. "That's...that's not what I meant."

"No, I think that's exactly what you meant." The larger man reached for the other, his massive hand closing around his throat. Black veins lanced out from the point of contact, and black pustules spread over his body. The man thrashed in his grip, attempting to scream, but all that came out was blood. A large part of her was all too happy to see that bastard suffer, but even so, it was rather sickening. In moments the struggling turned to twitching, then fell still. The orange haired man dropped the corpse, and she could see that the throat where he had gripped was already undergoing necrosis. The tall man stepped over the body, crouching in front of her. She looked up into his eyes, and what she saw there pulled her in and repulsed her all at once. He had stopped smiling, though, and that was somewhat comforting. "My name," he said, and she could feel his voice drawing her in, whispered undertones telling her to trust him, to follow him, to devote herself to his design, "is Roy Flagg. What's yours?"

"Viper." She didn't intend to answer him, the response slipped through her teeth without so much as a 'by your leave.' "Viper Westwood."

He chuckled, and she felt comfort wash over her at the sound. "An appropriate name, if those fangs of yours are anything to go by."

"I suppose so."

He reached out, snapping her shackles with a mere touch. He stood up, taking a step back, leaving the path to the stair clear. "If you want to leave, no one's going to stop you. You're free to choose your path.

 _Run,_ she could hear her mind screaming. _Run and don't look back._ Instead, her body turned to face him, head bowed. "I will stay."

He smiled again, and suddenly it didn't seem creepy at all, instead it filled her with warmth. "That's my girl." He turned and led her upstairs, where the other kidnappers were lying scattered about, unmoving.

"Are they...?"

"Just unconscious," he replied. "They will wake up in a few hours, none the worse for wear. Well, that's one possibility, anyway."

"And the other possibility?" Viper asked. Flagg withdrew a knife from his sleeve, offering it to Viper, hilt first. She picked option two.

* * *

 _Two years ago_

"Shit," Rin whispered.

Oberon shrugged. "They killed your parents, you killed them, seems reasonable to me."

Viper nodded. She took another draught of her whiskey, which she had been steadily downing as she told her story. Oberon had been right, her shakes had stilled, and her other symptoms were fading. "I don't regret it at all. After that, I was with Flagg all the time. Anything he asked of me, I did without question. When he suggested using dust to augment my abilities, he didn't need to coerce me at all, I volunteered gladly. When he was happy I was happy, when he was angry, I was angry. He was everything to me."

Rin, mask having been removed a while ago, stared at her intensely. "It sounds like you loved him."

"Yeah, I suppose I did. But not the way you think. He was like a god to me. I was utterly devoted to him. I suspect, if he had ever asked it of me, I would have given myself to him as well, but that sort of thing never seemed to interest him." For some reason, Rin waggled her eyebrows in Oberon's direction. "Anyway, he taught me how to fight, how to kill. And kill I did. A whispered name, a picture, and they died." There was deep grief in her expression as she paused. "I've killed so many I cannot even count them anymore. Some were rivals, competitors. Those ones, those ones aren't so bad. But many, too many, were innocent of wrong. Worse than those, though, were the huntsmen and huntresses. I mean, I was actively acting against the interests of humans and faunus alike."

Rin put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it in comfort. "Take a breath. That's the past, and no matter how we wish it, the past is not something we can change."

Viper nodded. Rin's words held truth, and she did as instructed. Oberon stood by the window, contemplating the crowds in the street below. "So what changed?"

"One day, a few months ago, this strange Grimm showed up at our compound..."


	14. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: Germ Warfare**

 _Two years (and a few months) ago_

Viper sat on the windowsill, in their forest abode, one leg dangling out into emptiness. She was waiting for her master to return, boredom consuming her, when she saw it. It gave the impression of a floating crystal ball, glowing with an internal light, with tentacles dangling below. While less outwardly menacing than most Grimm, something about it made her hair stand on end. She raised a revolver, lining up the shot, when she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. She did not even need to turn to know who it was, and she looked to find her master giving her that grin of his.

"Peace, little one. The seer is a guest, not an enemy."

Viper took his word for it, as she always did, and followed him downstairs to greet their guest. Roy held open the door, and the seer passed into their halls. Viper could hear the ominous clicking sound it made as it floated past her. It followed Flagg to his dining room, where he sat at the table. Snapping his fingers, the servants rushed in to see to his breakfast, ignoring the Grimm entirely. She would later reflect that this was the true measure of his power, to make all else irrelevant, to ensure that they saw only him. The only reason he did not control her to the same extent was because it would interfere with her ability to rid him of his enemies. The seer bobbed to a stop beside Flagg's ornate chair, clicking more loudly.

"Hello to you, too, Salem."

Dismissive clicking.

"Honestly, I don't think a little polite courtesy is too much to ask."

Angry clicking.

"Don't snap at me just because things didn't go the way you wanted with Autumn. I have told you, time and again, your operations are no concern of mine. If I wanted a petulant child whining at me about every little thing, I could just sire one. Now, is there anything you actually want, or did you just call to bitch about your personal problems?"

A pause. Then, a long stream of more composed clicks.

"Yes, of course. I'll have one of my people look into it."

The seer resumed its normal clicking pattern and floated out of the room.

Flagg looked up at Viper, who had been standing in the corner. "You have questions."

"Only if you wish to provide answers."

Flagg waved dismissively. "That was just an ambitious child, looking to move up in the world. However, she did ask a favor of me, and I would like you to see it done."

"Your wish is my desire, my master."

* * *

It was raining when Viper strode into that little town. Hidden in a canyon, out in the deserts of Menagerie, the town was little more than a few ramshackle prefabs, but the people there seemed content, thriving in their little community. She felt the weight of the thing in her pocket weighing her down, literally and metaphorically, making her footfalls feel leaden. She had killed more people than this before, of course, but never in one go. The thing in her pocket strained against the container that sealed it, raging to get out, to fulfill its intended purpose. She walked stiffly, towards the center of town, and it surprised her how little they took notice of her. _Shouldn't they be wary? Shouldn't they suspect every person who entered their little town? How could they ever expect to hold this place if they were so complacent, so happy._ She wanted to scream, to demand that someone notice her, that someone stop her, but the mere thought of her master kept her to her course.

She came at last to the center of town, and began to reach down towards her pocket, when she felt claws at her throat. Talons might have been the better word, though, judging from the curvature. Some sort of predatory bird faunus, then. Shorter than her, male if the musculature pressing against her back was anything to go by. She needed to surprise him, not give him time to secure his grip. She swung her foot backwards, catching him between the legs, falling forward to flip him over her. She made a mistake, though, forgetting to account for where his claws would go after they left her throat. Pain exploded in her brain as two talons dug into the right side of her face, their owner's momentum ensuring that they tore upwards, slashing through the delicate flesh, destroying her eye in the process. And oh, did she scream then. A primal, senseless shriek, rage and pain all mixed in one. All qualms lost in the pain, she yanked out the object in her pocket, a vial no larger than her middle finger, and shattered it in her hand. A cloud of blood red fog exploded out of the shattered vial, engulfing the entire town in mere moments. Viper could feel her throat and eyes burning as the gas invaded her body, and could feel it tugging at her aura. Luckily, Flagg had inoculated her against this particular horror, and the cloud receded, leaving her without lasting damage.

Coughing, she looked around. The first thing she saw, as the cloud dispersed, was the bird faunus that had attacked her, seemingly covered in a black, ash-like substance. She stood, her face wracked with pain, and approached the boy. Upon closer examination, the ash did not cover him, rather his entire body had turned to ash. Now she understood what Flagg had said about this weapon. It attacked soul of any it came in contact with, igniting their aura, burning them from the inside out. Even as she watched, the corpse broke down, becoming little more than dust in the wind. She looked in a house, finding a young man holding a baby, another man holding the two of them in his arms. These three, as well, had burned. She knew that all the others in the town had shared his fate, and she sat down on the ground, doing something she hadn't done in a very long time. Hours later, she stood and made her way back.

* * *

When she got back, Flagg praised her accomplishment, but the empty space in her vision seemed to confront her with the faces of everyone she had ever killed. His honeyed words, so long the only light in her world, fell flat. Perhaps it was the magnitude of her sins, perhaps it was her soul being seared, but his charisma just didn't seem to reach her anymore.

That night, without a backward glance, she walked away from that house, and began to wander. She knew not what she was trying to find, where she was trying to go, only that the ghosts of her pasts were at her heels and would not allow her to stop moving. A few days in, the withdrawal had set in, and she had spent the rest of the time bartering away what little she owned to support her addiction. She had always had as much dust as she could want, so she had never realized how deeply the need ran. That brought them back to that day in the rain.

* * *

"And that's about it," Viper said with finality.

"Well?" Rin inquired looking toward Oberon. Viper followed her gaze, turning to focus on the black clad lad.

He had hitherto been standing quietly in the corner, listening to the story, but now he stepped forward, hands clasped behind his back, a common pose for him. He regarded the older woman with intensity. She had done terrible things, true enough, but he had done worse. Everyone had ghosts. Besides, she reminded him of a certain pair of unkempt bird-brains, and a certain golden-eyed cat he had met many years ago. "We cannot offer redemption," he said at last. "We cannot guarantee that you will not have to do any bad things from here on out. But we can promise that your choices from here on out will be your own. And the first choice you need to make is this; either you can stay here, keep the clothes, and be right back where you started, or," he reached out a hand, "you can keep moving forward." Viper bit her lip, razor teeth drawing blood, then nodded, reaching to grab Oberon's hand.


	15. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: Fragments**

 _Present Day_

On the little island of Patch, a little away from the village proper, stood a little cottage in the woods. And in this cottage could be found a young blonde woman, currently flipping pancakes. Honestly, her technique could probably use some work, probably because she was using her left hand. Manual dexterity was always a little difficult with your non-dominant hand. And why was she using her left hand, you ask? Because she was currently... _disarmed._ ( **I regret nothing** ) As she worked on her pancakes, she contemplated a photo on the counter beside her. A photo of her team, all smiling happily together. Ruby, with Weiss' hand on her shoulder. It was something of an accomplishment at the time, since normally it was hard for Weiss to even accept physical contact, let alone providing it. Beside those two were Yang herself, and Blake. Blake had an arm around Blake, as usual. Blake had a little smirk, an expression that told Yang that she was really, truly happy. Yang reached out to touch the picture, only to remember she had nothing to reach out with.

 _Why? Why'd you have to leave? Why'd you have to leave just like her?_ Yang bit the inside of her cheek, knowing that that kind of thinking wouldn't get her anywhere. Her pancakes finished, she ate quickly, before heading up to the attic. She knew it needed cleaning, but dad wasn't going to say anything about it, what with her injury and all. But she felt the need to do _something_ and this seemed like a reasonable choice of activity. Climbing up the ladder one-handed was an interesting experience, but she managed. When she opened the attic hatch, she was greeted with a lungful of dust, causing her to cough heavily and almost lose her hold on the ladder. Recovering, she pulled herself the rest of the way up, so that she stood in the dusty room, squinting in the hazy semi-darkness. She looked around, critically, wondering when the last time anyone had come up here was. Sighing, she retrieved the duster she had stashed in her back pocket before she came up, and opened the small window in the back of the attic. She made her way around the attic, wiping away the dust. When the dust got too thick on the duster, she would knock it away, out the window.

In this way, she spent a good hour, before she accidentally knocked over a small box which was sitting on top of many other crates. Flinching at the sound of the crash, she knelt down to pick it up. It was a small, long case, like a jewelry box. She recognized the white, rose shaped symbol embossed on the box, her mother's symbol. The mother that actually mattered, not the other one. As she took it up off the floor, she saw that the latch had broken open and the contents were scattered on the ground. Placing it back in its original place, she retrieved the scattered contents. There was a small pile of pictures, shots of a young Team STRQ hanging out, doing normal young adult things. Most of the pictures focused on Summer, making Yang smile wistfully. More than a few, though, featured Raven. Raven seemed actually happy, caught laughing at some joke Summer made, or sitting back to back, contentedly, with her twin. She wondered why she had never seen these pictures before. Then she noticed a pair of data drives which had fallen a little farther away. Looking closely she saw they were labeled. One _For Ruby,_ and the other _For Yang_. Her hands were shaking slightly now, wondering what was on them. Setting aside the pictures and the drive for Ruby, she took the other drive downstairs, to the terminal where she could insert it.

 _"_ _Hey, sunshine."_ It was Summer, sitting at the very same desk Yang was, so many years later. She was talking into the terminal, utilizing its recording function. Yang could already feel the tears stinging her eyes. _"I hope, uh, I hope this message finds you well."_ Summer shook her head. " _No, no, that's not true. I don't hope this finds you well. I hope this never finds you at all. I hope I get to be there for all your birthdays, for your first day of combat school, and for the day you graduate. I hope you never see this, because if you're seeing this, I didn't make it. Tai says it's stupid to make this, bad luck or something, but it's a dangerous world out there, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let my little girls go without getting a word in edgewise."_ The sound of a muffled, male voice singing "You are my Sunshine" can be heard in the background. Summer chuckles, smiling. _"Speak of the doofus and he shall appear. Sounds like Tai's putting you girls to bed. But, that's rather beside the point, I suppose. Anyway, I don't know how much you already know, so I'll start with the basics. I've included some pictures with these drives, of my old team, Team STRQ. Obviously you already know me, Tai, and Qrow, but I'm going to talk about the other member of our team, Qrow's twin sister Raven. Your mother."_ Summer paused, probably to let that bit of information sink, in before continuing with her hands up in a placating gesture. " _Yeah, I know, sorry for dropping the bomb on you like this, but it had to be said at some point, and you know what they say about removing bandages. So, yeah, your mom. She is probably one of the strongest people I know. She's courageous, and clever, and beautiful. She could be stubborn, but she cared, more than she would ever admit. Even now, young as you are, I see a lot of her in you. Not least of which is that hair. She was always there for us, even when things got rough. But, I suppose you're more interested in the whole 'being your mom' thing, so let's talk about that. The first thing you should probably know is that she and Tai were never actually together. One night, after a big mission, she got drunk and stuff happened. But, even if the circumstances of your birth weren't exactly...ideal, she came to love you very much. I know it might not seem like it now, but I remember the look on her face the day you were born. She was so frickin' happy. And she stayed with you long enough to make sure you were okay. But, eventually she had to go back home. I wish I could say why, or where, but honestly I don't know. But from what she and Qrow told us, it's not a good place. So, all in all, it's for the best she didn't take you with her. She keeps an eye on you, you know. She thinks I don't notice, but I do."_

She sighs rubbing her face with a hand. _"I'm rambling, aren't I? There's just, there's a lot here, and it's hard to keep everything organized. Where was I? Oh, right, Raven leaving. Honestly, as easy as it would be to just say it was her fault for running, it's not exactly like any of us tried to stop her. We were all angry about what happened, and hurt, and we just let her go. Even Qrow was too afraid of going back to go after her. But she was hurting too, and we were all too absorbed in ourselves to figure that out. And by the time we figured that out, it was already too late. I suppose... I suppose that if there's one thing I want you to take from this, it's that if you care about something, about_ someone, _then you have to hold on to it, no matter what. Because if you let go, you'll end up regretting it forever._ Yang looked at the picture of her team, the fingers of her left hand brushing the image of Blake. _Well, that's about all I've got time for. I've got to catch an air-ship now. When I get back, I'll give these to Tai. And, if the time comes, he'll give them to you. Goodbye, my little dragon. I love you."_

Yang closed the video, and saw that there was an image file attached to it. Clicking it, a picture popped up of Raven in a hospital bed, smiling contentedly with a small bundle lying in her arms. It actually took Yang a second to realize that the bundle was a baby. An adorable, dark haired baby. An adorable, dark haired baby with white eyes.


	16. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: Hunting**

 _Present Day_

Viper bounded joyfully ahead of her comrades, soaking in the warm Vacuoan sun. She might not love cold, but this was her element. She always felt much more energetic in the warmth, one of the many reasons she usually operated in Menagerie's deserts. Looking back, she frowned at her significantly less energetic comrades. The snow fox looked about ready to die in the heat, the silly Atlesian, while the golden knight, reined in by years of discipline, suffered in silence, no doubt boiling in her armor. Oberon, as ever, seemed unfazed by the weather, but was keeping pace with the others, apparently in no hurry to get anywhere. Viper rolled her eye, stopping to wait for the others to catch up.

The four warriors were on their way from one of the villages in the deserts of Sanus called Harena, a rather uninspired name that translated as Sand. In order to cover the costs of their operations, the four often posed as a team of huntsmen and took jobs protecting the small villages that surrounded the kingdoms. By choosing small, out of the way villages, they reduced the likelihood that their actions would be discovered by anyone in authority. Harena had recently been afflicted by creeps, and had gladly agreed to pay "Team CRVO" to rid the village of the Grimm. To this end, Viper had been tracking the lizard-like monsters to their nest, a task which would be so much easier if her teammates weren't so damn slow.

Eventually though, even the slowest journey must reach its end, and Viper at last spotted a cave, nearly hidden in the dunes. The creeps' trail led right to it, and there was no doubt in her mind that this was their goal. She pointed it out to the others as they came up, indicating that they needed to go inside. Oberon silently moved to the front of the group, leading them into the cave. Viper might be the best at tracking, but Oberon could actually sense Grimm, in the same way he could sense people's souls. At Rin's prompting he had once described it to them as souls having a certain gravity to them, a draw that he could feel, while Grimm felt like an emptiness, a hole in the fabric of the world. Shaking herself out of it, Viper followed along, then Corona, and finally Rin. Viper and Rin could see in the dark, due to their faunus heritage, and Oberon always seemed to find his way, but Corona, on the other hand, could not see in the dark, and needed the gentle guidance of her girlfriend to show her the way. Together they made their way deeper into the cave. Oberon led them down farther and farther. They could see signs of habitation, spent torches lay scattered around, while crude railings and boardwalks lined the path. Someone had been spending time down here, enough to actually put in rudimentary walkways. Oberon vaguely wondered at the identity of these unknown actors, but figured it would be best for now to focus on the task at hand.

Following the path deeper into the cave, they eventually found themselves on the edge of a cliff leading into a large cavern. And by large, I mean that the entirety of Beacon could fit inside the cavern without touching the walls. And as they looked down, for the entrance was actually quite high above the floor of the cavern, the ground seemed to be shifting, twisting, heaving, but as they continued to stare, they realized it for what it really was. The entire floor was covered in hundreds, even thousands of Grimm. Creeps made up the majority of the population, while King Taijitus slithered through the masses. Even worse, there were some massive, hooded Emperor Taijitus in the mix.

Viper, looking over Obi's shoulder, saw the mass of reptilian Grimm and shuddered. Her team was strong, no doubt about that, but going up against that many Grimm was impossible. She turned to look at the others. Rin was silent and still, but her knuckles were white as she gripped Corona's shoulder. Corona, of course, couldn't actually see what was front of them and so was completely unfazed. Oberon, though, Oberon worried her. Oberon was quivering. Not out of fear of course, she had never known him to betray any sign of fear, but out of barely repressed excitement. He turned to her, presumably looking right at her. "No," she said warningly. Oberon conjured his sword, four feet of curving black steel, with a recurve, guard-less hilt. "No, no, no..." Oberon started backing up, "NO, NO, NO..." Oberon ran forward, leaping over the edge of the cliff, down towards the Grimm, "GODS FUCKING DAMMIT."

Turning to her companions, she said, "Guess stealth's out of the question. Corona, you're up." Nodding the woman drew her sword and shield, and her entire ensemble began to glow with golden light, bathing the entire cavern in a close approximation of natural sunlight. Without a word, she leapt down into the fray, the other two women following closely after. A creep charged for Corona, only to be to be blasted by Viper's guns, Duncan and Hardin. Corona kept close to the wall, allowing it to guard their rears while she protected the three of them from frontal attacks. This allowed the others, whose weapons were more long-range focused, to take the time to carefully choose their targets, picking off the enemies with mechanical precision. They easily mowed down several waves of Grimm without even breaking a sweat, due to their precision, coordination, and teamwork.

* * *

Meanwhile, in roughly the middle of the cavern, Oberon was also racking up the kills. It was honestly easier for him to fight alone. The only reason he ever took hits was if they would hit someone else otherwise, so as long as no one else was around, he could simply flit through the battlefield, slipping in and out of solidity as easily as a penguin transitions between land and sea. All the while, his sword, Dullahan, did its bloody work, slashing through limbs and torsos, the force of his slashes causing the blade to cut through even thick bone plates as if they were little more than butter. He used his unique command of the battlefield to his advantage, melding into the ground at times, getting under the Grimm only to spear it from below on the tip of his blade. It was little more than butchery at this point, and he was honestly a little saddened at the lack of challenge. At least, he was, until the snakes joined in the fight.

* * *

Back with the others, everything was going okay, until Viper saw a blur of motion out of the corner of her eye. Time slowed down as she turned, spotting the Taijitu head darting straight at them. Before she even fully registered what the creature was, her reflexes had already sprung into action, lining up to fire. Twin revolver barrels barked as her silver dust rounds flashed out, spinning at a much faster rate than normal rounds, boring through the thick plating and shredding the Grimm's insides. Rin, behind her, was contending with the other head. Unfortunately, her Seppun were not well suited for this kind of work. Or else they wouldn't be, except that they were coated with a mixture of Viper's extracted venom, and other, unknown poisons, then deliver with surgical precision to the Grimms' vital areas, delivering swift death to her enemies. As frivolous as Rin often seemed to be, she was quite studious in her study of anatomy, for both Grimm and sentient species, that she might always know the best targets for her attacks. The Kings were not too big a threat, and all in all the three of them were just glad none of the Emperors seemed to have noticed them.


	17. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: Escape**

Oberon was feeling rather elated at the situation that he was in, for it seemed that the Emperors had finally taken notice of him. Two of the twin-headed, king cobra-esque Grimm were slithering towards him, the other Grimm retreating at their approach. Spinning his blade in his hand, he waited for them to come to him. The way they moved was so strange, with their two heads not always working in conjunction, causing their slithering to be disjointed and arrhythmic. Strange though they might be, they were nothing to laugh at, surprisingly fast for their massive size. The first Taijitu reached him with its black head at the fore. It lashed out, snapping at him. It hit him full force, causing him to burst into a cloud of shadows, swarming around and up its head, reforming at the top of its head. He raised his blade, intending to stab down through the Grimm's skull, but before he could deliver the blow, he sensed the white head whipping towards him. In order not to get hit, he had to shift again, slipping away so that he could examine the situation. The second Emperor had joined the fight now, so he had four giant, snake-monster heads to deal with. Swinging his blade in small circles, he looked around, wondering how he was gonna make it out of this one.

The girls, meanwhile, were beginning to tire. The two long ranged fighters could feel their auras depleting, starting to flag under the constant use, while Corona was feeling a more physical exhaustion. Their reactions were slowing down, they were getting sloppy, and it was only a matter of time before someone slipped up, badly. They needed to end this fight quickly, or someone might get hurt. Corona looked around at their surroundings, trying to find something to aid them in their predicament, when she noted that the walls were softly shining. Intrigued, she shut down the glow of her armor, plunging the cave into darkness. It was as she thought; a soft red glow leaked out of the walls. It only took a moment to put everything together. This wasn't just a cave, it was a mine, a dust mine. And if that was dust, then...

"Oberon," Corona shouted, her lights coming back to life.

"Yes," he replied, suddenly appearing by her side.

"The walls."

Oberon examined the wall, pressing his hand to an exposed dust vein. He nodded. "It will take a little while to build up a charge, but it'll work. I suggest you run."

Corona nodded, grabbing the faunus pair's hands and leading them back to the cave entrance. Oberon, meanwhile, started pouring aura into the dust, priming the explosive mineral to blow. He could hear the crystalline material resonating, building up to the explosion.

* * *

The others were running as fast as they can, trying to outrun the inevitable explosion. They were only halfway up the tunnel when they heard a thunderous roar, the ore was igniting behind them. _Goddammit, Obi, couldn't have given us a little more time._ Corona pushed the others ahead of her, legs pumping, straining with effort. The fireball was bad enough, but worse was that, similar to a spark igniting a trail of black powder, the dust was reacting to Oberon's impulse, a cascade of explosive power, racing ever closer. At least she didn't have to worry about being able to see, as the approaching fireball provided more than enough illumination. Rin was in the lead, shifting gravity so that it was pulling her upwards and forwards, Viper was right behind her, straining from the effort, with Corona in the rear, the weight of her armor slowing her down. The fireball was coming closer, nipping at her heels, but then she saw it, a glimmer of daylight. Pouring as much strength as she could into her legs, she sprinted forward, bursting out of the mouth of the cave and diving to the side, just as a great gout of flame shot out behind her, like a mighty dragon belching fire. Impressive as the explosion was, they do not tend to last long, and in moments the blast scattered to the winds, leaving scorched earth and glassed sand behind. The three women sat in the sand, trying to collect their breath. All seemed fine, until the ground began to crack and splinter, rumbling beneath them.

Viper was the first to realize what was going on. "SINKHOLE!" she shouted, pushing the others to their feet. The explosion had destabilized the cavern, and now the roof was caving in, causing the ground beneath their feet to sink into the hole. The desperate sprint began again, trying to make it to the edge of the danger zone. The ground became steeper and steeper as they went, creating a crater with vertical edges. The sand was pouring down into the center of the hole, making it feel like they were trying to run up a water fall. Viper leapt up to the edge, pulling herself over, but Rin, realizing that Corona wouldn't be able to make it, jumped on her back, held on tight, and redirected her personal gravity, essentially making herself a negative weight on Corona, lightening her enough to make the jump. Corona made it to the edge, gripping on with all her strength, and Viper turned, gripping her by the wrists and heaving her upwards. To make sure they didn't get trapped again, they made sure to get at least twenty yards from the edge of the hole before collapsing in exhaustion. They lay, there, panting and sweating, when a wisp of shadow slipped up through the sand, condensing into the form of Oberon.

Walking up, he looked down at the exhausted warriors, chuckling. "Have a good run, did we?"

"Bastard," Viper grumbled, "couldn't a waited?"

"Hey, I've never brought an underground cave network down on top of myself before, sorry I couldn't finesse it more."

Viper rolled her eyes, hissing in his general direction. Oberon chuckled, sitting down to wait while the others rested from their run. Eventually, when everyone had gotten their breath back, the exhausted adventurers made their way back towards the town. It quickly grew dark, however, and the four decided to make camp for the night. Corona and Rin set up their tent on one side of the fire, while Viper made hers on the opposite edge, then they all sat around the campfire, chatting about nothing while Oberon entertained them with anatomically impossible shadow puppets. They all laughed quietly in the darkness, basking in the glow of victory and friendly company.

"You know what I just realized?" Oberon said, suddenly.

"What's that, Obi?" Corona replied.

"That entire fight was completely pointless. We could have just blew the mine from the get-go."

The others sat silently for a moment, dumbfounded, then burst out laughing. Rin was the first to reply. "You're the one that jumped in first, idiot. Did you even look for a different solution?"

"Umm..."

"I swear, what has the boss been teaching you all these years?"

Viper looked up at that. "That reminds me, Obi, how long have you been with the old bird?"

"One, might want to be a little more careful about what you call Raven, you never know who might be listening, and two, I don't really know. I've been with her at least as long as I can remember. I was here when Corona got recruited."

"Oh, yeah," Corona chimed in. "Back when Adam was still with us..." she trailed off, looking at Oberon, who had almost reflexively brought a hand up to his throat.

"Who's Adam?" the two junior members of the team asked in unison.

Oberon growled, low in his throat. "A fucking asshole, that's who."

The others could sense that this was something of a sensitive topic, and so they wisely dropped it and left him to his brooding.

Later when the others had both gone to bed, and the fire was burning low, Corona looked up at Oberon, who was keeping watch, as he ever did.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked.

"No, it doesn't," he replied with a sigh. "You know, sometimes I wish it did. Sometimes I wish I could still feel pain, just to know that I could feel anything at all."

"Show me," Corona said, an imperative but not an order.

Oberon did not have to ask what she meant. He put out his hands, palms facing up. Then slowly, shakily, he touched his index finger to his thumb, then back to straight. He repeated the motion for each of his fingers. The movements were stiff and clumsy, and his hands threatened to fall apart more than once, but it was progress. It was easier for him in a fight. In a fight nobody questioned why you had turned to smoke, nobody noticed if your muscles didn't quite move the right way. As long as you did what needed doing, people couldn't care less. But when the fight ended, when everyone calmed down, that's when they start to notice the little things. And those times were far the more terrifying.


	18. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: Mornings**

 _Present Day_

Corona was always the first to get up. Even all these years later, her para-militaristic discipline still held at least that much sway. She sat upright, then swung her legs off the bed. Selecting a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from her limited combinations-because _somebody_ hogged all the closet space-she quickly changed, sliding on a pair of combat boots. It had taken her a long time to get comfortable with moving around in anything less than full combat gear, and even now she still wore her sword and shield everywhere she went. Except for bed, of course. Not so much because it would affect her ability to sleep as that it would interfere with "interpersonal relationship activities", as Oberon would call it. She kissed her still-sleeping girlfriend on the forehead, then made her way to their bathroom to prepare for the day. She took care of all the usual toiletries, and pulled a comb through her hair to get rid of all the tangles. That taken care of, she made her way up to the kitchen. She always cooked breakfast, Rin too lazy to do so and Viper too quick to adopt a liquid breakfast mentality. And as for Obi, making him make them breakfast would just be rude. And so, each morning found Corona standing over the stove, making sure her roommates ate properly.

* * *

Viper was the next to wake, allowing her alarm clock to beep only once before she lashed out with surprising precision for someone who just woke up, slamming the stop button down. She stretched languorously as she rose, working out the stiffness in her muscles, before getting up and turning off the sun lamp over her bed. She remembered the way Rin had laughed in that good natured way of her when she had first seen her using it. While not actually cold-blooded, Viper's snake-like heritage had left her with an intense aversion to the cold. She would do some light calisthenics and yoga, then take a shower. Once done, she would get dressed in her usual leather pants, cotton shirt, and riding boots with spurs, sometimes throw in a vest if she was feeling particularly fancy, but she left her hair down for now. If it was that time of the month-no, not _that_ time of the month, ya weirdoes-she would get one of her small jars that she kept in a cabinet, stretch a latex cover over the rim, and bite down. Her fangs took it as a sign that they were needed and began pumping venom into the jar. The jars were all marked so that she would not overly deplete her venom, after all, she still wanted enough to use for herself. When the jar filled to the correct amount, she removed the latex, replacing it with a screw on cap, before heading up to the armory, a level above the main floor, where a small fridge sat next to Rin's workbench, in which the venom and other poisons were stored. Having deposited the fresh sample, she would traipse back down to join Corona in the kitchen. Corona was always ready for her, having heard her passing upwards, and greets her with a pot of freshly brewed coffee. Viper accepts the coffee gladly, and adds a shot of whiskey to the mixture before taking a seat at the table. Viper takes out her revolvers to clean and polish, and the two chat while Corona watches the stove, this calm conversation one of the benefits of being the first ones to get up.

* * *

Next comes Raven, if she's around. Well, more accurately, Raven wakes up around the same time as Corona, but she spends so much time trying to control her excessive amounts of hair, that by the time she gets upstairs Viper is already sitting around waiting. Raven joins them at the table, leaning her overly-complex sword and sheath against the edge of the table. Often, she glances at Viper, drinking her spiked coffee, and grimaces. Viper has long since gotten used to it, and knew better than to take it personally, after all, everyone has their own story. The boss questions them about jobs they'd been on, intelligence they'd acquired, little things that they didn't consider important enough for a formal report. The three senior members of their little circle got along quite well, perhaps owing to the fact that they all knew what it was like to lose people. Either way, they all respected each other and valued their input.

* * *

Sometime around the point at which Corona would put the finishing touches on her breakfast dishes, Rin would finally drag herself out of bed. She had long since acclimated to sleep with another's body heat beside her as she slept, and as soon as Corona left, Rin would shift and roll around, seeking out the lost warmth. Because of this, when she woke up, the blankets were wrapped around her like a lumpy, misshapen sushi roll. Working herself free of the covers, she would drag herself off the side of their bed, falling in a heap on the floor. Stretching her entire body in a very feline-or should I say vulpine, am I right-way, she pulled herself up into a standing position, and rummaged through her oversized collection of outfits. She always spent an inordinate amount of time trying to make sure her outfit was color coordinated, in spite of the fact that all of her clothes consisted of the same bi-tonal color scheme. When she finally figured out what she was going to wear, she arranged her hair into its ever-present bun, leaving the locks in front of her humanoid ears free to hang down. Once upon a time she would have lit incense in the room as she went around getting ready for the day, but the smell of it bothered Corona, even though she would never admit it, far too conscious of other's traditions and practices to admit that it was an inconvenience to her. So, Rin took the initiative to stop using the incense, and simply feigned ignorance when Corona brought it up. Having perfected her look, she climbed the flight of stairs from their bedroom to the main living area, and headed to the kitchen. She gave a respectful bow to the boss, if she was there, followed by a good morning kiss for her girlfriend. Then, if they are having pancakes or waffles, she climbs on Corona's back to retrieve some syrup from one of the higher shelves. ( **Yeah, you thought that was a joke before. Nah, they actually do that shit. Rin climbs that girl like a goddam tree, and it is friggin' adorable.)** Once she has her syrup, she climbs back down at the table. Then Corona would serve them all breakfast. They never wait for Oberon before eating, as they all know he won't be joining them for at least another hour. While he wasn't exactly uncomfortable watching them eat, he did it all the time on the road, after all, he definitely did not find it to be a worthwhile experience, and so he always managed to stay out of the kitchen until after breakfast.

* * *

Give it an hour, though, and Oberon would come slithering out from wherever he had been spending the night, sometimes that meant sliding out through the bottom of his ever-locked bedroom door, but more often it meant him slinking out of the library or workshop where he'd been spending time. He got bored, after all. He would always situate himself in the corner of the room, not really comfortable being the focal point, except, of course, for in the middle of a fight. Funny how much easier it is to put yourself in the center of a brawl than stand amongst the closest thing you have to friends. Sometimes the others didn't even notice him come in, the creepy, noiseless bastard. They'd just be talking and suddenly, bam, out of the corner of their eye, this mutha-fucka just standing there, all menacing-like. Raven was about the only one that never seemed surprised by his presence, or maybe she just hid it better than the rest of them. Where was I going with this? Oh, yeah, morning routine. It was actually Oberon who did Rin's hair. She never really understood why he was so fascinated with doing her hair, and the one time she had asked why he didn't just play with his own hair, his reply had been the not at all creepy, "Mine doesn't move anymore." Yeah, she wasn't following that rabbit-hole anytime soon, thank you sir. But, though he had messed it up for a while, he had gotten quite good at doing her braid, occasionally even going so far as to braid the hair close to her scalp as well. He had a pretty strange way of doing it, though, without ever seeming to actually move his fingers while he worked. Another question she never had the courage to really explore.


	19. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: Unexpected Rendezvous**

Qrow found himself sitting in a stuffily posh restaurant, tugging at the stiff collar of a rented tuxedo, wondering what idiotic notion had led him to be waiting in a place so far removed from the norm as to be ridiculous. Sure the kids would be fine without his supervision for a da restaurant, tugging at the stiff collar of a rented tuxedo, wondering what idiotic notion had led him to be waiting in a place so far removed from the norm as to be ridiculous. Sure the kids would be fine without his supervision for a day or two, he'd made sure of that much, but still, this was so far removed from his normal haunts that it'd be hard to even claim relation between such places and this ludicrously hoity-toity joint. And even more strange was the fact that he was actually sober for this shit. So absorbed in his musings was he that he almost failed to notice the person taking a seat across from him. _Weird that I didn't hear her coming,_ he thought. _Those boots of hers are usually so distinctive_. Nevertheless, he looked up, expecting to come face to face with haughty, blue-gray eyes and that annoyingly passive face that just made you want to tease her just to get a reaction, and... _Holy shit, man, get yourself together, because not only is that line of thinking totally not the point, but she ain't even the one here._ Instead, Qrow's gaze met only a darkened reflection, thrown by the helmet worn by the individual in front of him. A server approached cautiously, no doubt intending to scold Oberon on proper dress code, but a single look from the monochrome warrior convinced him that he most definitely had somewhere more important to be right now. Qrow sighed; he was nowhere near drunk enough for this one.

"You are definitely _not_ a Schnee," he observed, warm familiarity in his tone subverting any attempt to sound unhappy.

The boy chuckled. Always chuckles with that kid, Qrow wondered how long it had been since he had simply laughed. Not that half-way amused sound, not that crazed battle laughter either, just simple, care-free laughter. Well, not that Qrow could blame the kid. He'd definitely seen more shit than anyone his age had any right to. "Oh, you mean the young lady that was rushing here to meet you after work? She's going to be a bit late I'm afraid."

Qrow rolled his eyes. Of course she was. "What did you do?"

"I'll tell you what I didn't do. I certainly didn't cause a bucket of water to fall off a roof, spilling it all over her so that she would be forced to take a detour to her apartment to change and redo her hair and makeup." As if on cue, a buzzing noise in his pocket notified him of a text from his ice queen, verifying that was, in fact, exactly what happened, though she was under the impression that the culprit was targeting her due either to her connection to the military or the Schnee Dust Company, never imagining that it might be related to him, instead. Damn, he was going to have to make this up to her later. Of course, that could be fun... "You know, you've got a really stupid look on your face." Oberon said calmly. "Not thinking of anything dirty, are we?"

Qrow glared at the boy, snapping back to attention. "It's been a while, huh Yue?"

Oberon sat back in his chair, contemplative. "Haven't heard that name in a long time," he replied, chuckling again.

"Yeah, well, I just don't get why you changed it."

Oberon shrugged. "I never really liked Yueliang. Shouldn't I have a name I like?"

Qrow snorted. "You say that like it's so simple. You think I could just stop being Qrow if I felt like it."

"Yes."

A sigh. "Kid, it's not that easy."

"Yes, actually, it is. All you have to do is fill out a form and boom, new name. Or in my case, just start calling yourself by the new name, everybody else will eventually follow suit."

Qrow sighed. The kid had a surprisingly simplistic world view, in the face of everything he had experienced. He wondered if that wasn't that very simplicity that made him such a merciless and prolific killer. To him, everything could be simplified and reduced. No need to think about his victims' families, no need to worry about whether he was on the right side of history. If they opposed him, they were evil, and there was nothing more to be said on the matter. Guess that's what happens when Raven is your sole role model for most of your life.

"You're thinking something rude about your sister, aren't you?" Obi interjected.

"Seriously, chill with the mind reading, will you?"

"You know as well as anyone that mind reading is not within my skill set. You always get this certain look when you start thinking about Raven, like you swallowed something bitter. And since you literally never have any nice thoughts about her, it was an easy leap to make."

"Well, she's not exactly on my warm fuzzies list, ya know?"

"Because of what happened with your niece, or because she returned to the tribe."

Qrow had to admit, he hadn't expected Oberon to bring up the tribe. Honestly, he was surprised Obi even knew they existed. "I was under the impression she was keeping your little group in th dark about the tribe."

"Oh, they are. But does anything you know about me lead you to believe that I would be content to remain in the dark about my leader's activities, to follow blindly without being able to see the bigger picture."

"Fair enough, kiddo, fair enough. I can't exactly fault you for being curious. You're not one to keep in touch, though. Guess Raven really rubbed off on you in that sense, at least. So, that being said, what brings you to my neck of the woods?"

Oberon brought a hand up to his face, index finger pointing upwards on the side, while the rest of his fingers curled downwards over where his mouth would be beneath his mask. Something serious, then. "Tell me, Qrow, how much do you know about Roy Flagg?"

Qrow stiffened. "Why would you be asking about Roy Flagg?"

"That's not something you need to know. But we have reason to believe he is colluding with Salem. Is he one of her subordinates?"

"I wish it was that simple, kid. Now, ya gotta understand, I don't really have all that much information on him. He covers his tracks pretty well. But, from what I can tell, he does not so much serve Salem as works along-side her."

"A partner, then?"

"I doubt it. They both seem to be serving their own, personal goals. However, it appears that they do share some mutual objectives and are willing to assist each other in carrying out those objectives."

Oberon sat silently, absorbing this new intel. The fingers of his right hand drummed on the table as he considered the possible implications, metal fingertips tapping away on the glass tabletop. Qrow did not fail to notice the slight stutter in his movements, or that sometimes he missed a finger in the pattern. A part of him wanted to hug the kid, to tell him it was gonna be okay, but he'd been through enough to deserve the truth, and Qrow, at least, wasn't gonna lie to him."

Did you ever meet Summer?" Qrow asked, suddenly breaking the silence between them.

"A few times, yes." Oberon replied, jarred by the sudden subject change. "Why do you ask?"

"What did you think of her?"

Oberon considered his answer, casting back to the few memories of Summer that he had. "She was kind, and caring. She put everything she had into raising her kids and killing Grimm. She always polite when we met, and she never treated me like a kid. But, you know, she always seemed sad. No, not sad, just...wistful, I suppose. I think she missed Raven, though she would never admit it. But she always said she understood why Raven left."

"Well, that makes one of us."

"Excuse me?"

"I still don't understand. What the hell could make you leave your family like that?"

"She couldn't stay. You know that, don't you?"

"Even if that's true, that was no excuse to leave Yang behind."

"It was better for her."

"Oh, yeah? Did you ever consider that if she had brought Yang, she might still have her arm?"

Oberon slammed his hands down on the table, cracking the glass. "OR MAYBE SHE'D BE LYING DEAD IN AN UNMARKED GRAVE!"

Qrow deflated, self-righteous anger popped like a balloon. "Shit, kid, I didn't mean-"

Oberon held up a hand, silencing him. "It's fine. Just...think about it, okay. Anyway, your date's here." He nodded behind Qrow towards the door. There she was, his Schnee. He smiled, taking in her long, elegant dress, white at the top, fading to light blue as it flowed downwards. He turned back, only to find the seat across from him was empty. Just then, he heard those familiar steps making their way to him.

"Do I even want to know what happened here?" she asked, noticing the cracks in the table.

Qrow grinned sheepishly. "Long story, Win, long story."

* * *

 **A/N: This is all I have right now, and I'm kind of engrossed in a different project right now, so this is going on hiatus for a while. Do I know how long? No. Do I plan on coming back to it eventually, yes. So, yeah, that's about it. Bye**


End file.
